ARCADIS
March 9, 2019
Executive Summary
These guidelines were prepared on behalf of the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) and the Pipeline Abandonment Research Steering Committee (PARSC) to assist the Canadian oil and gas industry operators, regulators and land owners to plan for pipeline abandonment through the development of a long-term monitoring (LTM) program [3]. A separate framework has been established to evaluate the risks of pipeline abandonment-in-place and removal, to select the most appropriate option for each segment, and to reduce risks during abandonment [1]. LTM is required for residual risks that remain after the site assessments and mitigation of environmental effects have been completed and the conditions of the National Energy Board (NEB) Abandonment Order have been met [5].
The NEB has provided an abandonment process planning flowchart. The abandonment program is developed in consultation with stakeholders according to the prevailing regulatory requirements. The pipeline is abandoned upon regulatory release when the LTM program comes into effect. The abandonment process involves making a risk-based determination for each pipeline segment about abandonment in place or removal. The decisions must account for LTM to mitigate residual risk (addressed in this document), reclamation, remedial action contingencies, potential exposure scenarios, relevant pipeline system information, and potential land use (future and present) [5]. The Risk-Based Decision-Making Framework for Pipeline Abandonment [1] provides guidance to facilitate risk-based decisions pertaining to the overall abandonment process.
These guidelines do not apply to decommissioning, which keeps open the possibility of pipeline reactivation.