How do you monitor your crude oil pipeline system?

Enbridge’s entire pipeline network is monitored 24/7/365 by a dedicated team of specially trained Enbridge staff members at our Pipeline Control Center. These controllers undergo a comprehensive six- to nine-month training program before they are qualified to operate consoles independently.

All system alarms generated by our automated leak detection equipment, and relayed to our control center staff, are assumed to be leaks until they are conclusively proven otherwise.

We monitor our pipelines for possible leaks using multiple computerized systems, each with a different focus and each using different technology, resources, and timing. Together, these methods provide overlapping and layered leak detection capabilities:

• Controller monitoring: Our Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is designed to identify operational changes, such as pressure drops, that may indicate a leak. This SCADA system also monitors vapor concentrations, pump-seal failures, equipment vibration levels, and sump levels.
• Computational pipeline monitoring: We constantly monitor pressure, temperature and other key data from thousands of points along our systems to quickly identify and respond to unexpected changes. Computer-based systems use measurements and pipeline data to detect anomalies that could indicate possible leaks.
• Scheduled line balance calculations: Many times a day, at regularly scheduled intervals, we calculate and confirm that the volumes of crude oil we receive into our pipeline systems precisely matches the volumes we deliver.