Pipeline Statistics

In light of the executive order signed by Trump, enabling the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue construction (though I personally find it unlikely to proceed without a lengthy legal battle first), I figured it’s worth looking at some statistics around the pipelines we already have in the US and what these can tell us about the future. I won’t be making any value judgments here, nor will I be comparing and contrasting pipelines with other means of transport. Just pure statistics.

All statistics are from PHMSA unless otherwise noted. Pipelines here refers to any liquid/gas energy pipeline – natural gas, crude oil, byproducts, and others. Statistics, whenever possible, are based on numbers from 2015 due to their availability.

[1] A significant incident is defined by PHMSA to have one or more of the following: causing a fatality or an injury requiring in-patient hospitalization, $50k+ total costs, highly volatile liquid releases of 5 barrels or more, 50 barrels or more of other liquid releases, or liquid releases resulting in an unintentional fire or explosion. However: “gas distribution incidents caused by a nearby fire or explosion that impacted the pipeline system are excluded”

[2] A serious incident is defined by PHMSA to have caused a fatality or an injury requiring in-patient hospitalization

 
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