Advances in Abandonment and Disposal Technology of Aging Oil and Gas Pipelines

When the operation benefit of an oil and gas pipeline is not enough to cover its operation cost, and the pipeline is no alternative use, seriously damaged, aged or the operation risk exceeds the acceptable range, it is bound to cause serious safety and environmental hazards along the pipeline, especially for the over age pipeline in service, therefore its scientific abandonment and reasonable disposal is particularly important and urgent. Focused on the methods for judging abandonment, retirement modes, cleaning and environmental management of oil and gas pipelines, the characteristics of existing methods for predicting the remaining life of the pipelines and their application in abandonment and disposal are compared and analyzed, and the basis and adaptability of oil and gas pipelines retirement are illuminated. According to the actual situation and environment of the discarded pipelines, the selection basis and applicable conditions of the pipeline and facility disposal methods such as demolition, in-situ shelving and their combination are expounded. It is found that North America has rich experience and mature technology in oil and gas pipeline abandonment and disposal, but many countries, including China, seriously lack scientific and systematic evaluation standards, practical experience, related theoretical and technical investigations. This study has important reference and practical significance for promoting the development of abandonment and disposal technology of an aging oil and gas pipeline, and ensuring the personal safety and ecological environmental protection along the abandoned pipeline. This paper presents the status quo of over age service and abandonment decision-making of oil and gas pipelines in the world, draws lessons from the experience of safety and environmental protection disposal of the global abandoned pipelines, and puts forward the principle and method of abandonment judgment and scientific disposal of the aging pipelines based on residual life evaluation. This method has sufficient basis, strong adaptability and wide application.