RCP is now offering a 2-day Pipeline Pressure Testing Workshop at its facilities in downtown Houston. The workshop will begin by outlining the objectives for performing a pressure test and how those relate to DOT requirements. The workshop will then build upon these foundations to answer many specific pressure testing questions including:

• What are the different types of tests commonly conducted and how do you design each one?
• What is the theory and physical science behind a pressure test?
• How do you plan for a pressure test from start to finish:
  • Cleaning the line
  • Environmental hazards and permitting
  • Landowner and operations safety
  • Customer/stakeholder impact
  • Logistical details and scheduling
  • Pipeline modifications and anticipating failures
• What is the required instrumentation and how does it need to be configured?
• What data is absolutely necessary to validate a pressure test?
• How do you determine and prove a successful pressure test?
• What does a good test report look like (that will also satisfy PHMSA)?

Each attendee will receive the presentation as well as applicable handouts in a hardcopy notebook. Attendees will also have the opportunity to work through several exercises specifically covering 1) calculating the SMYS, MAOP and test pressures for various pipeline segments at various elevations 2) calculating the volume of water required for a hydrotest, fill times and velocities, and determining how the volume of test water changes with pressure and 3) designing a complete test plan for a hypothetical pipeline i.e. dividing the line into test sections and determining the test parameters for each section.

To register for our workshop, click here.

Title 14, Chapter 4

On May 19th, the Department of Conservation (DOC) proposed new regulations to further enhance the safe operation of natural gas storage facilities in California. “We believe these will be seen as the most comprehensive and stringent regulations for underground gas storage in the nation,” said Ken Harris, who as State Oil and Gas Supervisor heads the DOC’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources. The proposed regulations aim to prevent leaks and include stronger well construction standards and requirements for daily testing of wellheads. Once adopted, these regulations will supplant emergency rules adopted after the Southern California Gas Company natural gas leak in Aliso Canyon that ended in early 2016.

The proposed regulations build upon emergency regulations currently in place but are more comprehensive. They include a number of provisions aimed at proactively preventing leaks rather than responding to them. The broad objectives of the proposed regulations are to establish:

• Well construction standards and mechanical integrity testing specifically for gas storage wells. This includes requirements to ensure that no one point of failure in a well can cause a leak.
• Standards and specifications for risk management and emergency response plans for underground gas storage projects. Contingencies such as earthquakes, hazardous material spills, and explosions and fires must be considered.
• Standards and specifications for project data requirements – including protocols for operators’ record retention and management – as well as the inspection, testing, and maintenance of wellheads and valves.
• Monitoring and inspection requirements to ensure early detection of any indication of integrity concerns. This includes continuing practices required under the emergency regulations, such as the use of infrared imaging to spot leaks and daily inspections of gas storage wellheads.
• Protocols for the decommissioning of an underground gas storage project.

The public comment period will run through 5 p.m. on July 13 and include two public hearings. Comments on the draft regulations can be sent via email. The first public hearing will be held 4-7 p.m. on July 10 at the Natural Resources Agency auditorium, 1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento. The second hearing will be conducted 1-4 p.m. July 12 at the Ronald Reagan State Building, 300 South Spring Street, Los Angeles.

For a copy of the proposed California Underground Gas Storage regulations, contact Jessica Foley.