A Validation Strategy for Semi-Quantitative Risk Assessment in Pipeline Integrity Management

Public concern and pressure from regulatory bodies are accelerating the need for pipeline operators to formalize and intensify their approach to integrity management. There is a growing acceptance of risk-based approaches. Semi-quantitative methods are attractive since they make the most efficient use of data available. However the risk models have to be validated and customized to specific pipeline systems. The strategy to do this has to be based in a clear understanding of the specific risk methodology used and industry requirements of the risk assessments it produces. The paper describes a validation strategy that can be used when only sparse data are available and which can act as a framework to incorporate additional data from integrity assessments and operational experience as these become available.