Pipeline Separation: A Review of Requirements, Guidance and Best Practices

Alliance Pipeline (Alliance), an integrated Canadian and U.S. high-pressure, high-energy natural gas transmission pipeline system, is committed to the development and application of best practices for the full lifecycle of its pipeline system. Currently, there are several publications which individually set out minimum pipeline separation requirements, and discuss considerations for establishing an appropriate separation distance between adjacent pipelines or other buried structures sharing the same right-of-way (RoW). Alliance has reviewed these existing publications, and has consolidated the requirements, guidance, and best practices discussed therein for application in its own company practices. This paper summarizes the review and consolidation of these requirements, guidance, and best practices.