Practical Cases: Geohazards on RoW Generated by Third Party Damage

Abstract

Camisea Pipeline Transportation System (PTS) in Peru, owned by Transportadora de Gas del Perú (TGP) and operated by Compañía Operadora de Gas (COGA), begins in the Amazon rainforest, crosses the Andes Mountains (4850msnm) and finally descends towards the Pacific coast. The PTS has been operating for more than 10 years and it has Natural Gas (NG) and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) transportation pipelines. The NG pipeline is 888km long which includes two Loops (105km and 18km in the coast and mountain sectors, respectively). NGL pipeline is 557km long. From the beginning (0 km) to 210 km, the Right of Way (RoW) is located in the geotechnical context of the Amazon rainforest. Then, between km 210 and km 420, the PTS crosses the mountain chain of the Andes. Finally, between km 420 and Km 730 the RoW is located on the Peruvian Pacific coast. TGP’s operation of the PTS identifies, analyzes and controls the different types of threats that can affect the integrity of the pipelines. The operation is developed according to international standards defined in the Pipeline Integrity Management (PIM) of the operation. Consequently, hazards such as Third Party Damage (TPD), geohazard, external and internal corrosion, among others, are analyzed. However, associated to the economic growth and development of Peru, there have been some cases where the intervention of a person, community or industrial activity in the surroundings of the RoW has resulted in the level of geohazards are spontaneously modified and activated. Consequently, the degree of stability of the RoW is necessary to analyze the integrity of the NG and NGL pipelines. This article describes the occurrence of some practical cases where there was a change in the stability of the RoW of the TGP’s PTS triggered by activities related to TPD. It is highlighted that the identification, analysis, definition and execution of mitigation actions are carried out in a transversal way which involves the participation of different operational areas such as: Integral Maintenance, Geotechnics, Integrity, Social Management, among others. All the activities are done with the approach of keeping the balance between community, environment and infrastructure. Some of the cases considered are: Flood and scour of the RoW triggered by the failure of a water tank in an industrial area, scour of channels due the obstructions and an unstable slope process generated by constructions near the RoW. Today, the operation develops activities in order to mitigate geohazards generated by TPD. Some of these activities are, among others: Social awareness, technical talks, agreements with industrial and local administration entities, geotechnical maintenance and monitoring. In addition, it is highlighted that all the mentioned mitigation actions are carried out in a transversal manner between different operational areas. Afterward, the collected information is properly saved in the Geographic Information System database.