Tutorials

Please note, tutorials are not included in conference registration costs. For pricing, please visit the registration page.

Syllabus: An introduction to the assessment of defects in pipelines. Defect types will be discussed, with emphasis on their potential to result in failure. The background to the commonly applied defect assessment methods will be presented, ranging from workmanship acceptance levels to fitness-for-service assessments.

• Why do pipelines fail?
• The assessment of defects in pipelines
• How to assess corrosion defects
• How to assess mechanical damage (dents and gouges)
• Pipeline integrity

Syllabus: This tutorial is intended to focus on emerging topics with respect to interaction of defects, threats and hazards on and off the pipeline including monitoring and mitigation strategies. The tutorial presentations will feature advanced assessment techniques and case studies for combined defects (e.g. dents with gouge/metal loss), external loading, geohazards and bending strain analysis, girth weld assessment and crack management with discussion of Engineering approaches used by pipeline operators and industry subject matter experts.

Syllabus: The Pipeline Risk Management tutorial will provide an overview of risk and reliability methodologies, with concrete examples given, and an in-depth look of where the industry is moving from the perspective of risk based integrity program. The focus areas will be:

1. Hazard and threat identification, focusing on reliability methodologies that can be used to manage integrity hazards. Additionally, a number of practical examples will be given, including reliability based corrosion and crack management methodologies
2. Determination of acceptable levels of risk, including the risk measures used, proposed updates of CSA Z662 Annex B, and an overview of the history of risk criteria
3. Risk control measures and how to evaluate the application and effectiveness of risk controls
4. Industry approach to overcoming challenges when performing risk assessments, including transitioning from qualitative to quantitative risk assessment, communicating risk results, and making effective decisions through risk assessment.
5. Case studies on practical applications of Risk Assessment in industry

Syllabus: An overview of the mechanical properties of pipeline materials and how they relate to pipeline integrity:

• Vintage materials (overview and history of mfr process, API 5:L, field joining practices)
• Modern materials (overview, pipe specification, material design, legacy issues)

Syllabus: Overview of the following fundamentals:

Part 1:

• Concept development
• Hydraulic design considerations for gas, liquid and two-phase systems
• Route selection, water crossings and geotechnical issues
• Criteria for materials and coating selection
• Design loads on buried pipe

Part 2:

• Trenchless project

Syllabus: Emerging digital technologies are transforming businesses across the globe, and the pipeline industry is no exception. From integrity management to business intelligence, there are many developing applications in the pipeline industry. Topics to be discussed include:

• The basic concepts of data science and machine learning
• An overview of the modelling workflow including data strategy, the role of domain knowledge, model development and application, visualization and communication
• Case study examples of applications in the pipeline industry
• Recommendations for applying data science and machine learning in the pipeline industry

Syllabus: This full day tutorial will provide a short history of the Canadian oil and gas sector as well as an overview of how Regulation has developed over time. It will include a discussion on how codes and standards such as CSA Z662 Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems are used by Canadian regulators.

In addition, the course will provide an overview of Indigenous consultation including a brief introduction to Canadian history followed by an exploration of more recent events in the context of major decisions which are continuing to change our approach.

Syllabus: This tutorial will address what companies need to do after the data is received from the ILI vendor. The checks that should be done to evaluate whether the data quality meet the expectation based on ILI tool specifications and whether there are significant outliers that will trigger additional integrity actions. Different API 1163 validation levels and metrics such as probability of detection (POD), probability of identification (POI) and sizing accuracy will be covered. Decisions based on the validation results will be discussed.

Syllabus: This tutorial will discuss the primary methods of external corrosion control for pipelines. A brief summary of the science of external corrosion will be provided followed by theory and practical aspects of pipeline coatings and cathodic protection. Both plant and field applied coating application concepts will be discussed. Conventional impressed current cathodic protection systems and associated monitoring will be presented.

Syllabus: This tutorial is the first step in building a foundation for pipeline operations and engineering personnel with the “know how” knowledge to plan, prepare, and execute pigging operations in a safer and more cost effective manner. The following outline of the Guidelines used is divided into six (6) modules:

• Basic pipeline knowledge
• Purpose of pigging
• Types of pigs
• Factors affecting pigging
• Launch and receive procedures
• Pig Tracking, Locating and Contingency Measures
• Case studies

Syllabus: The purpose of this tutorial is to emphasize the importance of identifying and managing the impact of geohazards, such as landslides and river erosion on pipeline feasibility and operations. This course is intended for engineers and project managers involved in pipeline routing, design, operations and pipeline integrity. Content will be based around case-histories to illustrate how to identify, manage and mitigate geohazards. Major themes will include:

 

Syllabus: Managing Facility Integrity:

• Risk management
• Integrity planning
• Maintenance optimization

Syllabus: The discussion will examine the following:

• Effect of flow on corrosion
• Localized corrosion and corrosion monitoring
• Predicting localized corrosion in pipelines
• Options for mitigating internal corrosion

Syllabus: Discussion on pipeline integrity issues, repair and new technologies with a focus on:

• Protocols
• Defect descriptions
• Defect analysis
• Safety
• Repair Methods
• New Advancements
• Codes & standards

Syllabus: This half-day tutorial will cover both liquid pipeline hydraulics engineering fundamentals as well as practical liquid pipeline industry applications with an emphasis on steady and transient pipeline hydraulics study, pipeline system pressure control and optimization.

Syllabus: In-line inspection internal measurement unit technology (ILI IMU) has been used effectively since the turn of the millennium to monitor and manage soil to pipeline interactions due to landslides, settlement/subsidence, and other external/internal forces. The course will detail the technology focusing on vendor analysis and understanding how:

• the reports are produced,
• to read reports,
• to classify features with the introduction of the feature classification system and feature library,
• to understand the current limitations of the technology, and
• how to apply to a geohazard/pipeline integrity program including a discussion of geo-mechanical strain limits

The course will spend a significant amount of time reviewing actual examples of ILI IMU features. Attendees are invited to send in ILI IMU features for confidential analysis as part of the course.

Syllabus: This session will focus on the theoretical and practical aspects of piping stress analysis. Topics to be covered include pipeline monitoring and analysis related to surface loading and geotechnical concerns.

Syllabus: There have been multiple incidents of girth weld failures in newly constructed pipelines in North America and other parts of the worlds, including in-service failures and hydrostatic test leaks in recent years. The cross-sections of two failed girth welds are shown below as examples.

A number of industry efforts have been initiated to reduce the risk of such failures, resulting in interim recommendations published as a technical bulletin by PRCI. Canada Energy Regulator (CER) published a safety advisory in early 2020. Multiple initiatives are underway within standards committees to address various contributing factors to these incidents.

The objective this tutorial is to alert the broad industry about this new threat to pipeline integrity and provide practical and actionable recommendations to reduce the risk of such incidents. The scope of this tutorial is as follows:

Historically, girth weld failures have been a very small portion of pipeline incidents. Until recently, girth weld failures in hydrostatic tests were thought to be extremely unlikely. The number of incidents occurring around the world indicates that the recent failures are not one-of-a-kind events.

1. Background of the incidents and major contributing factors,
2. Recommendations to improve welding practice, including welding procedure qualifications,
3. Recommendations for enhanced linepipe specifications,
4. Assessment of the risk of low-strain failures for in-service pipelines,
5. Understanding regulatory requirements and possible responses, and
6. Initiatives aimed at the long-term improvements of industry practice, including updating and revisions of relevant standards.

Syllabus: The objective of a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is to determine the direct cause and root cause(s) of an unexpected event (such as a pipeline operational failure or product release), identify the contributing factors, and provide recommendations that when implemented, will be effective in preventing recurrence of this type of failure. This tutorial will describe many of the different tools, processes, and philosophies for conducting a complete RCA. Discussed is how the application of such industry tools as "TapRooT", "Fault Tree" and "MORT" during the RCA process can provide consistency and reliability in defining best practice benchmarks. Also provided as a learning tool and to promote open discussion are examples of root causes from pipeline incident investigations conducted over several years by the Tutorial Leaders. Finally, the challenges and problems associated with the RCA process and the development of truly actionable findings will be discussed.

Syllabus: This tutorial discusses the appropriate assessment techniques on a threat-by-threat basis, including an overview of ILI, direct assessment, and hydrostatic testing. Emphasis on the pros and cons of each method is discussed. The impact of recent changes to industry standards and regulations will also be covered.