North Dakota’s best potential for pipeline leak detection may be technology that is being researched in its own backyard.
To keep up with the growing volumes of natural gas, crude oil and saltwater in North Dakota, pipeline operators have installed more than 2,000 miles of new pipeline each year since 2011, and leak detection in those pipelines is a major concern for the state. A pipeline technology working group was tasked by Gov. Jack Dalrymple late last year to research current and future technology used to detect leaks from pipelines. North Dakota State University, NDSU, Center for Surface Protection Director Gordon Bierwagen told the group at an Aug. 21 meeting that the state needs to develop its own expertise in this area and the university system has the capability to do so, but not the funding. He noted that the oil and gas regulatory agency in Texas, the leading oil producing state, gives revenue from producing wells to its universities to fund research.
“We’re second in the country in producing oil; maybe we should be second in the country with supporting that industry with R&D (research and development) at our universities,” Bierwagen said.
UAV technology tops the list
One technology that has the most universal applications within the industry is the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles, UAV, which can detect anomalies in the pipeline system when flying over it. WBI Energy Vice President of Operations Scott Fradenburgh said UAVs are the only systems that work for detecting leaks in natural gas pipelines.
“There’s a lot (of imaging systems) that can pick up the vapors, but on a real windy day, it’s getting the technology to identify that so you don’t fly 100 miles and have all these anomalies,” Fradenburgh said. “Continued development of that technology is key.”
As one of six test sites chosen to perform unmanned aircraft systems by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration, the University of North Dakota, UND, has led in the research of this technology through the university’s colleges of Aerospace and Engineering & Mines. Bierwagen said the state has the necessary research resources, but they need to be capitalized.
“There are some things you can start doing with UAVs and applying some simple practices that might be worthwhile,” he said. “Since the state is one of the sites countrywide, we should take advantage of that.”
Bierwagen added that beyond research, the universities train students to utilize this technology, so there should be a charter to the universities to provide the personnel to implement the leak detection systems.
“The state of North Dakota is new to the scale of oil development we have and I think ... we have to provide a base of support somehow,” he said. “Our recommendations should include reexamining what we ask our university departments and junior colleges to do.” Bierwagen said he tried to find funding for this type of research and the only monies available have matching fund requirements that are heavily weighted toward industry.
“We don’t have matching funds, per se. They can call their own overhead and everything else ‘matching funds,’” he said. “So even the structure of the distribution of money is not weighted to the state developing its own expertise and I think we need to do it.”
The technology working group’s chairman, Justin Kringstad of the state’s Pipeline Authority, said a related request should be part of the group’s recommendations to the governor.
“As these new technologies on imaging and deployment packages (emerge) ... that’s something the group can conclude would be worthy of additional funding and research at UND and NDSU, our university system,” Kringstad said. “It has some expertise in some of these areas but has not necessarily put it all together and could use some additional funding to research it further.”
Complexity does not ensure accuracy
The group noted that implementing sophisticated systems is only one part of leak detection and it is important to bring every piece - from visual detection by the operator and technology to public awareness - into the picture.
“At a high level, sometimes cost and complexity of your system doesn’t always translate to better performance overall,” said Max Kieba of the federal Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. “Complexity does not ensure accuracy. You may get some alert or alarm, but it takes time to differentiate that.”
Bierwagen said underground laser sensing which allows an operator to tag oils in the pipeline so a specific signal will appear if something goes wrong is currently being studied by NDSU. Those sensors could potentially alleviate some of the false alarms associated with current technology.
The pipeline technology working group, which is made up of private sector pipeline operators, energy industry leaders and state and federal officials, plans to present a written report to the governor prior to the next legislative session in January. Bierwagen is hopeful the recommendations will motivate the state to invest in research at the university level to ensure pipeline safety.
“We need to ... start standing on our own,” Bierwagen said, “and not just bring people in from the outside to solve our problems.”
