An Oil and Gas Pipeline Accident Model Based on Failure of

Generalized Management

Abstract: With the arrival of China's oil and gas pipeline network era, the security of oil and gas pipelines confront great challenges. Scientific pipeline safety management methods and concepts are being urgently needed. Oil and gas pipeline accidents are usually caused by a series of generalized management failure factors. In this paper all the oil and gas pipeline accidents can be explained by SHEM model which composed of hardware, software, environment and management. Generalized management is the core of model which formed M-H, M-S, M-M and M-E interfaces with other parts. When closely cooperated, these interfaces can build a solid protective barrier, or they will be penetrated by unsafe inducement because of management failure. Then oil and gas pipeline accidents will occur. The SHEM model is shown in Fig.1 below.

Fig.1 SHEM Model

The SHEM model of oil and gas pipeline accidents contains four interfaces, namely management-hardware, management-software, management-management and management-environment. The connotation of each interface is interpreted below. Management-hardware interface means the management of physical factors interface, such as the pipeline itself, ancillary facilities and equipments. Management-Software interface means the management of the main non-physical interface, such as legal regulations and management files. Management-Management interface means the interaction between each management subject, such as collaborative management between different departments. Management-Environmental interface means the management of internal and external environment, such as temperature and pressure in pipelines or social environment along the pipeline. In order to prevent management failure evolving into accidents, the control system of management failure is established which contains four control interfaces and twenty control points. The detailed introduction is shown in Tab.1 below.

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Tab.1 Control System of Management Failure

Interface Control Point

H1 pipe (design flaws, security sign)

M-H M-S M-M

M-E

Internal environment

External environment

H2 physical equipments in maintenance (excavator hammerâ?¦) H3 ancillary facilities

S1 laws, regulations and standards to protect pipelines

S2 rules and regulations prescribed by pipeline company

S3 emergency plans and procedures

S4 equipment archives and work handbook

S5 risk assessment management

S6 inspection technology

S7 anti-corrosion technology

M1 participants of pipeline construction

(Pipeline companies, design units, municipal units, government regulators) M2 departments in pipeline companies

E1 internal corrosion

E2 internal parameters (temperature, humidity, noise, pressureâ?¦) E3 internal medium

E4 pipeline company

E5 natural environment

(corrosion ,tide, Landslide and debris flow) E6 social environment along the pipeline

(destruction of residents along, human theft, vehicle extrusion) E7 political and economic environment

E8 corporate culture system

According to SHEM model of pipeline accidents and control system of management failureï¼?oil and gas pipeline accident model based on failure generalized management is established. The cases resulting in accidents are various such as case1, case2, case3, etc. In summary, the similar point is all the fours protective barriers are penetrated because the failure holes exist. In certain conditions unsafe inducements havenâ??t been blocked effectively and lead to accidents. Oil and gas pipeline accidents model is shown in Fig.2 below.

Fig.2 Oil and Gas Pipeline Accidents Model

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The Qingdao oil pipeline explosion accident is discussed thoroughly by the oil and gas pipeline accident model mentioned above. First failure holes are abstracted from the process of accident scenario reproduced. Because the importance is different, control points are classified into core points, important points and normal points. Then according to the principle of giving priority to core control point, the preventive precautions are proposed to control the risk of pipelines.
The oil and gas pipeline accident model is put forward from the view of the generalized management failure and accidents are largely due to this. The factors affecting pipeline safety are summarized and classified comprehensively aiming at finding effective ways to improve the safety of pipeline in essence. In theory, the more failure holes it exists, the more accidents occur easily and more serious the consequences will be. So our target is to reduce failure holes and take measures to make up for the failure. The model can be used to cognize the process of the accident and investigate the cause of accidents. Once failure holes are found, many problems will be readily solved. At the same time the model provides methods for accident prevention and construction of safety management system for oil and gas pipeline.

Keywords: pipeline; accident model; failure; management

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