1. INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT
10 YEARS EXTERNAL
CORROSION DIRECT
ASSESSMENT (ECDA)
Charlie Hall

2. Pipeline Integrity Actions
• Incident Overview • Bellingham
 June 10, 1999 a gasoline pipeline
ruptured
Washington
– Gasoline leaked into two creeks
in the City of Bellingham,
Washington and ignited
– Fireball killed three persons,
injured eight other persons
– Caused significant property
damage
– Released approximately 1/4
million gallons of gasoline
causing substantial
environmental damage

3. El Paso Pipeline Incident
August 19, 2000, 30-inch near Carlsbad, New Mexico.

4. El Paso Pipeline Incident

5. El Paso Pipeline Incident

6. Why Pipeline Integrity?
•“deterioration of a material, usually a metal, that results from a reaction
with its environment”
•Soil-side corrosion typically slow progressing
•Corrosion rate influenced by geological formations – “corrosive zones”

7. Why Pipeline Integrity?

8. Why Pipeline Integrity?

9. Congressional Intervention

10. Pipeline Integrity
Issued Integrity Management (IM) Regulations
12/15/2003
Require Industry To:
 Conduct an Analysis of the Risks and Adopt a
Written IM Program in High Consequence Areas
(HCA’s) by 12/17/2004
 Begin Baseline Assessments: 06/17/2004
 Finish Baseline Assessments: 12/17/2012
 Reassess Covered Pipeline Every 7 Years

11. Gas Integrity Management Program
Scope and
Implementation Remediation
(901, 903, 907, 913) (933)
HCA Identification Prevent/Mitigative
(903, 905) (935)
Threat Analysis Continual Evaluation
(917) (937, 939, 941, 943)
Baseline Assessment Performance
(919, 921) Measures(947)
Direct Assessment QA, Training, Comm.
(923 through 921) (915, 945, 949, 951)

12. Baseline Assessment Tool Selection
Based Upon Threat Assessment Analysis
Smart Pigging Historical Information (Need
Further Investigation to Find Root Cause)
Hydrostatic Testing (PHMSA Gold Standard –
Disrupts Service / Introduces Water)
External Corrosion Direct Assessment (Major
Challenge for Acceptance – Industry Worked Out
Process ECDA)

13. ECDA – Four Step Process
Advantage
“can locate areas where defects could form in
the future rather than only areas were defects
have already formed”

14. ECDA – Four Step Process
1. Pre-Assessment
2. Indirect Inspection
3. Direct Examinations
4. Post Assessments
FAILURE TO FOLLOW PROCESS
JEOPARDIZES PIPELINE SAFETY

15. ECDA – Four Step Process
Pre-Assessment
“Utilization of Operational and Historical
Records to Assess Potential External
Corrosion Locations and to Determine
Feasibility of Applying ECDA”
UNDERSTANDING PIPELINE THREATS
AND THE NEED TO OVERCOME THE
ACCEPTANCE THAT RECORDS REVIEW
REQUIRED

16. ECDA – Four Step Process
Pre-Assessment
Identify and Address Corrosion Activity
Past or Old Corrosion Damage (Finds Old
Damage after CP Problem Corrected)
Present Activity (Yes)
Future Corrosion Risks (Identifies Problem
Areas)
Continuous Improvement Process (If Applied
Correctly)

17. ECDA – Four Step Process
Pre-Assessment
ECDA Feasibility Assessment
Integrate and Analyze Data Collected
Coating Electrical Shielding (ECDA Feasibility NO)
Backfill with Rock Content and Rock Ledges (Remain
Problem)
Ground Surface Hindrances, i.e. Pavements (Drilling/Traffic
Control)
Adjacent Buried Metallic Structures (Stray Current Influence)
Inaccessible Areas (Difficult to Access – Casings Overcome)
Situations That Prevent Aboveground Measurements in
Reasonable Time-Frame (Planning and Execution)

18. ECDA – Four Step Process
Pre-Assessment
Data Collection
Data Elements: Pipe-related, Construction Related,
Soils/environmental, Corrosion Control, Operational
Historical Records – Better Understanding Pipeline
Sufficient Data – Missing Records
Subject Matter Experts - Retirements
Determine ECDA Feasibility – (Missing Data)
Establish ECDA Regions
Similar Physical Characteristics – Role of Environment
Similar Past, Present, Future Corrosion Behaviors
Utilizes Similar IIT Tools
Select Indirect Inspection Tools

19. ECDA – Four Step Process
Indirect Inspection
CIS - Indicates CP Level
DCVG/ACVG - Indicates Exposed Metal
Soils - Indicate Environment Corrosivity
Depth - Indicate Third Party Damage Risk
PCM - Indicate Current Attenuation

20. ECDA – Four Step Process
Indirect Inspection
“Equipment and Practices Used to Take
Measurements at Ground Surface Above or
Near a Pipeline to Locate or Characterize
Corrosion Activity, Coating Holidays, or Other
Anomalies”
Data Collection, Quality, Recognition,
Current Interruption, Stray Current, Casings
and AC Corrosion

21. ECDA – Four Step Process
Indirect Inspection
Locate and define severity of coating faults where
corrosion may occur or be occurring Discovery
Coating Condition More Severe
Conduct at least two indirect inspection tools (IIT) the
entire length of the ECDA Region Casings and AC
Corrosion
Align and compare results from IIT tools More Stray
Current Than Expected
Identify, classify, and report results for Direct
Examination step

22. ECDA – Four Step Process
Direct Examination
“Inspections and Measurements Made On the
Pipe Surface at Excavations as Part of
External Corrosion Direct Assessment
(ECDA)”
Qualified Experienced Personnel

23. Data Integration Management Tools
•INSERT INTEGRATED SURVEY GRAPH

24. ECDA – Four Step Process
Direct Examination

25. ECDA – Four Step Process
Direct Examination

26. ECDA – Four Step Process
Post Assessment
“Analysis of Indirect Inspections and Direct
Examinations to Assess Pipeline Integrity,
Prioritize Repairs, Redefine Reassessment
Intervals and Assess the Overall Effectiveness
of the ECDA Process”

27. ECDA – Four Step Process
Direct Examination
Process Validation
Remaining Life Calculation
Define Reassessment Interval
Define Effectiveness Measures
Continuous Improvement
Reassess ECDA Feasibility

28. INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT
10 YEARS ECDA
Charlie Hall