Happy New Year to all our readers! We hope you had a merry, peaceful holiday season, and are looking forward to great things in 2016.
As we head into the new year, we want to stop and share some pipeline milestones from 2015. These are initiatives that are helping make transmission pipeline operations safer and more transparent, for Canadians and the environment:
Five key pipeline milestones from 2015:
1. Pipeline performance report
We believe that Canadians should have access to the real facts about pipeline safety, environmental performance and operations. In our first Pipeline Industry Performance Report, launched in November 2015, you will find transparent information on pipeline operations, practices and incidents – our challenges as well as our successes.
These five facts about pipeline incident figures will help you understand some of the key statistics in the report and how to interpret them.
2. Canadian Pipeline Technology Collaborative
Did you know that Canada has the second highest number of pipeline researchers in the world? Individually, pipeline companies are working hard to make their operations safer and more sustainable, so it’s easy to imagine what they could achieve working together. That’s why pipeline companies have come together to share science, expertise and knowledge. In May 2015, the Canadian Pipeline Technology Collaborative (CPTC) was incorporated as a forum for cooperative research and innovation.
These blog posts help explain the CPTC and its goals: Developing pipeline technology – the challenge and the solution and 4 ways to make Canada a leader in pipeline innovation.
3. About Pipelines Map
Where are Canada’s transmission pipelines? Because most transmission pipelines run underground, invisibly and silently, for decades without incident, most people don’t have any idea where they are. It’s possible that there’s one under your feet at this very moment! CEPA’s new interactive pipeline map makes it fast and easy for anyone to find natural gas and liquids transmission pipelines, and related facilities such as compressor stations or gas processing plants.
You can read more about the About Pipelines Map in this post: Looking for Canada’s transmission pipelines? There’s an interactive map for that.
4. Public disclosure of emergency response plans
Emergency preparedness and response is critical in the pipeline industry, and you have a right to know that pipeline operators are ready for anything. Many people are unaware that pipeline companies are required to have a detailed emergency response plan (ERP) for every pipeline they operate. Those plans aren’t always made public (at least in their entirety), because some information could infringe on individual privacy, national security, third-party confidentiality and environmentally-sensitive information. Instead the plans are shared with the appropriate emergency planners, first responders and agencies.
In March 2015, we announced an executive task force to develop a common approach to public disclosure of pipeline emergency response plans. Our goal is to provide a framework to find the right balance between the public’s right to know, the privacy of personal information and the security considerations also required for public safety.
5. Consistent industry standards and practices
Another way pipeline companies make their operations safer and more sustainable is through consistent standards and practices across the industry. Last year saw the publication of the first national standard on damage prevention and the protection of underground infrastructure (CSA Z247-15). It covers pipelines and all other underground infrastructure, and provides a consistent, blanket standard for safety and damage prevention.
You can learn more about it in Canada’s underground world – 4 things you need to know.
Those were some of the highlights of 2015, but we have lots more to achieve in 2016. Stay tuned, as we will continue to share the ways our industry is working toward transparency, safety and sustainability.
The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association represents Canada’s transmission pipeline companies who operate approximately 117,000 kilometres of pipelines in Canada. In 2014, these energy highways moved approximately 1.2 billion barrels of liquid petroleum products and 5.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Our members transport 97 per cent of Canada’s daily natural gas and onshore crude oil from producing regions to markets throughout North America.