Security for Pipeline Assets: The State of the Art

The North American energy pipeline system represents a security challenge. Taking a holistic view of the problem allows the operator to construct and implement a strategy systematically. The solution involves a multi-disciplinary approach using a combination of business tools and technology to provide enhanced protection, and rapid restoration and recovery in the event of an attack. • Mapping of “high consequence” areas, including pipeline segments near population centers, water resources, or environmentally sensitive regions, will allow energy companies to more logically allocate security resources, but there may remain vast stretches of pipeline where physical barriers are impractical. • Formal decision analysis techniques can be effectively used to assess potential threats, analyze vulnerabilities, prepare contingency plans and set priorities. • Hardware elements of the solution will draw heavily upon technological innovations, including the use of active earth observation imagery and sophisticated sensing equipment for surveillance and early detection. • Strategic planning exercises will allow operators to think through the problem before a threat occurs and to put in place resources to react to a threat and to respond, restore, and recover from an attack. This is particularly true in coordination across a region. The expanding effort to safeguard the continent’s energy infrastructure will rely upon a greater level of (1) government-industry cooperation, particularly in the areas of data and information collection/analysis/dissemination, (2) technological adaptation/innovation, including greater use of sensing and surveillance technologies, (3) the development of financial and insurance products that fit the specific needs of energy asset owners and operators, (4) communication with key constituencies: customers, suppliers, regulators, law enforcement agencies, and financial markets, (5) customized training for employees, (6) government supervisory and enforcement authority to inspect and penalize companies that do not implement the appropriate level of security, while providing a due diligence safe harbor for those that are proactive; and (7) an unwavering commitment to protect vital assets, human, physical, and otherwise. It is critical that pipeline security programs focus on long-term, sustainable solutions that are customized to fit the specific needs of particular energy asset networks. The paper contains a specific example of pipeline infrastructure management system and display screen examples.