Abstract
Some 10 incidents of low strain in-service and pre-service hydrotest failures in girth welds have been reported in North America since the Enterprise Products ethane pipeline failure in 2015. No such failures have been reported in Australia, despite the similarities in Standards, the line pipe data, and the use of manual SMAW using fully cellulosic procedures.
There are however significant differences that warrant further investigation and adoption in terms of best practice to ensure the security and safety of our pipeline networks.
Some unique differences and observations in terms of pipe properties, weld qualification procedures, test methods and even full scale pressure burst tests before and after coating are described to highlight subtle differences in the standards that may provide clarity in explaining pipeline girth weld failures and it is anticipated may also provide guidance for the future.
