Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) contracted Group 10 Engineering Ltd., Calgary, to conduct a third-party independent review of pipeline safety. The review, announced July 20 by Ken Hughes, Alberta Minister of Energy, will focus on incident response, pipeline integrity management, and pipeline safety near water crossings.
Group 10 will examine the adequacy of regulatory requirements with respect to pipelines under ERCB jurisdiction and industry best practices in: public safety and responses to pipeline incidents, pipeline integrity management, and safety of pipelines at or near water crossings. The review will take place in addition to any current incident-specific investigations ERCB is conducting.
ERCB responded to a leak on Plains Midstream Canada’s 83,000 b/d Rangeland pipeline in June (OGJ Online, June 8, 2012).
ERCB expects Group 10 to complete the review by the end of November for presentation to Hughes by yearend. ERCB will review the Group 10 report and provide its own report, including resulting ERCB recommendations, if any, to Hughes by Mar. 31, 2013.
Contact Christopher E. Smith at [email protected].
