API Issues Precedent-Setting Standard to Advance Pipeline Structural Safety

WASHINGTON, November 2 – The American Petroleum Institute (API) today issued Recommended Practice (RP) 1183, Assessment and Management of Dents in Pipelines, a newly developed safety standard designed to help maintain the structural integrity of pipelines by addressing mechanical issues using new research from the Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) and industry experts.

“Today’s standard release is the culmination of new research and technology used to develop state-of-the-art safety practices for pipeline operators,” API Global Industry Services (GIS) Senior Vice President Debra Phillips said. “We are proud to have convened 75 subject matter experts including representatives from government, industry, trade associations and safety organizations to advance our industry’s commitment to safe and environmentally-protective pipeline operations.”

RP 1183 gives pipeline operators the tools and resources they need to help ensure that the nation’s pipeline infrastructure is both operationally safe and efficient. It will help engineers more effectively identify structural stressors and proactively address repairs to prevent incidents. Specifically, it provides a series of screening tools to identify potential pipeline strain, pressure variations and materials fatigue. The new standard also establishes a common terminology and methods to be used by operators, creating a more standardized approach to maintaining pipeline systems. As part of the Pipeline Safety Management System (SMS) suite of standards, RP 1183 will help reduce risk and enhance safety management programs for pipeline operators.

The standard incorporates new technologies based on years of research by the industry focused on materials integrity, inspection, and dent assessment and management.

“The role that research plays in the development of standards and recommended practices is critical to ensure they are providing an objective basis for making sound decisions for the safe operations of pipeline systems,” PRCI President Cliff Johnson said. “PRCI is proud to have the results of our research be relied on to provide a fundamental and substantial contribution to the RP 1183 content, and that the industry values our research as relevant and a key contribution to improving pipeline safety and performance.”

API will host a RP 1183 webinar on December 10 with PRCI, which contributed to underlying research in the standard’s development. The webinar is open to operators and any other interested stakeholders to learn more about the standard and how to access training opportunities. For more information on RP 1183, please visit the API Webstore.

API standards are developed under an American National Standards Institute accredited process, ensuring that the API standards are not only technically rigorous, but also are developed using consensus, due process and balance across stakeholder interests. API’s ANSI accreditation also facilitates acceptance of API standards by state, federal and increasingly international regulators.

API represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 600 members produce, process and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In our first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

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