How do you keep your pipelines safe?

Preventing incidents before they occur is a critical component of our ongoing commitment to safety. This means recognizing conditions that have been known to cause failures in the past—including third-party excavation damage, external corrosion, and cracking or denting—and then working to minimize the risk.

It also means adopting the most advanced leak prevention technologies available, following environmentally sound construction practices and taking a proactive approach to training, inspection, testing and repair.

As part of our prevention strategy, we regularly use in-line inspection tools that allow us to monitor the health of our pipeline systems from the inside out. Prevention activities also include anti-corrosion coatings, cathodic protection (application of a low-level electrical current), interior cleaning of pipes, aerial and ground patrols, and preventative maintenance inspections.

Our Pipeline Control Center also monitors our system, using both human and automated resources on a continuous, 24/7 basis.

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

Since 2012, we’ve spent $3.78 billion on maintenance, inspection and leak detection across our crude oil pipeline system.