Anomaly Assessment and Repair Workshop

On October 22, PHMSA and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) co-sponsored and facilitated a public workshop on Assessment and Repair of Anomalies in Pipelines at the Gaylord National Hotel in National Harbor (Oxon Hill), Maryland. Approximately 175 attendees representing Federal and State regulators, industry, researchers, manufacturers, vendors, and the public from both the United States and Canada attended the workshop. The current regulations contained in 49 CFR 192.485 and 192.713, allows latitude in methods used for assessing and remediating pipe with corrosion anomalies to restore the serviceability of pipe. PHMSA has found a wide variation in operators' interpretation of how to meet the requirements of pipeline safety regulations in assessing, evaluating, and remediating corrosion anomalies. The workshop allowed the review and discussion of appropriate repair criteria for evaluating anomalies to meet regulatory code requirements for the permanent field repair of imperfections and damages. The workshop also allowed attendees to discuss the implications of research results and the potential need for regulatory changes or modification of industry standards.

FINAL AGENDA

• Meeting Preliminaries/Opening Remarks - William Gute – Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety, PHMSA OPS

• Agenda Overview - Alan Mayberry - Director of Engineering & Emergency Support, PHMSA OPS

• Overview of the Advantica Study
• Review of the findings and how they relate to anomaly repair. Presenter:Bryan Lethcoe – Director, Integrity Management, Advantica, Inc.
• Insights from a statistical analysis of the Advantica results. Presenter: Steve Stout – Senior Consultant, Cycla Corp.

• Industry Perspective - Anomaly Evaluation Issues and Advantica Study. Presenter: Terry Boss – Senior Vice President of Environment, Safety and Operations, INGAA

• International Perspective - Anomaly Assessment and Repair. Speaker: Rafael Mora – Technical Leader, Engineering, National Energy Board of Canada

• Panel - Tool Tolerances
• Introduction of the Topic. Moderator: Chris Hoidal, Director, PHMSA OPS Western Region
• PHMSA Perspective. Panelist: Chris McLaren, Program Manager, PHMSA OPS Southwest Region
• Industry and Commercial Representatives Presentations (All in one file)
• Stephen Westwood - Manager New Product Development, BJ Pipeline Inspection Services
• Mark Stephens - Senior Consultant, C-FER Technologies
• Sergio Limon-Tapia - Manager, NWP Pipeline Integrity Group, Williams Gas Pipeline
• Chris Whitney - Manager, Pipeline Services East, El Paso Pipeline Group

• Panel – Corrosion Growth Rates
• Introduction of the Topic. Moderator: Byron Coy, Director, PHMSA OPS Eastern Region
• PHMSA Perspective. Panelist: Joe Mataich, Community Assistance and Technical Services (CATS), PHMSA OPS Southern Region
• Industry and Commercial Representatives Presentations (All in one file)
• Oliver Moghissi – Senior Vice President, CC Technologies, DNV/CC Technologies, Inc.
• Drew Hevle – Principal Corrosion Engineer, El Paso Corporation
• Kevin Spencer – Pipeline Integrity Specialist, GE Oil & Gas PII
• Shahani Kariyawasam – Principal Engineer, TransCanada Pipelines

• Panel - Repair Criteria and Safety Factors used for assessments
• Introduction of the Topic. Moderator: Rod Seeley, Director, PHMSA OPS Southwest Region
• PHMSA Perspective. Panelist: Zach Barrett, Director of State Programs, PHMSA OPS
• Industry and Commercial Representatives Presentations (All in one file)
• Keith Leewis, Fellow, P-PIC
• John Kiefner, Senior Advisor , Kiefner and Associates, Inc.
• Chia-pin Hsiao, Senior Staff Engineer, Chevron
• Dave Johnson, Technical Consultant, Panhandle Energy

• Summary Comments and Closing Remarks - Alan Mayberry, Director of Engineering & Emergency Support, PHMSA OPS

• Final Attendee List

For additional information, contact:

21. DOT PHMSA Office of Pipeline Safety