Hazard Identification & Risk of Hydrocarbon Pipeline Blockages: Threats, Impacts, and Mitigation Efforts

A pipeline network is a structured fluid transportation system with low operating costs and high efficiency. It is the leading choice for transporting oil from the collection station to the receiving end station, making pipeline facilities critical equipment that must be maintained for availability and reliability to ensure the smooth running of the oil production process. However, this piping system is not free from various risks of disruption, both in operation and maintenance or due to the fluid content flowing through it. Pipeline blockage is an event for which hazards and risks must be identified so that risk mitigation can be applied as a form of sustainable engineering to minimize damage. This paper reviews the identification of hazards and risks as well as the mitigation of pipeline blockage derived from various studies and events, comprehensively discussing them using a risk matrix. It was concluded that the greatest risks of pipe blockage are environmental damage at 28%, fire and explosion at 22%, hazardous and toxic gases at 17%, overpressure at 13%, economic loss at 11%, and loss of oil production at 9%, with environmental recovery costs of 88.6%.