Established in 2007, PIPE is the forum for pipeliners and pipelining, which promotes pipelining of all types.

PIPE Membership and Business Development Manager Dan Lentell explains “There was a need for a body that would promote pipelining as a discrete engineering discipline and that would provide a unique network of contact and exchange for this sector.

“PIPE was established to be the forum for pipeliners and pipelining both internationally and at a local and regional level.”

He says “Branch meetings and other functions develop and cross-fertilise ideas, and by working together in this way members can contribute to the maintenance and improvement of safety and integrity standards within the industry.”

Mr Lentell says that currently PIPE’s membership comprises individuals working in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of oil and gas pipelines.

“PIPE membership was originally only open to pipeline engineers and students studying pipelining at a masters level. However, as of January 2011, PIPE has a new Associate Membership package open to non-engineers working in the pipeline sector in areas such as sales and marketing,” he says.

PIPE provides an essential network of contacts and information exchange for its membership, enabling those involved in maintaining pipeline integrity and safety to exchange ideas and experiences through their peer group.

Branching out

PIPE’s first branch was launched in the northeast of England last year. The branch, led by Mohamed Dafea of Penspen Integrity and Clive Ward of Coria Consulting, has worked to bring the region’s pipeliners together in a range of technical and social events.

The North East of England Branch is particularly proud of the role the group is playing in bringing students on the pipeline masters' courses at Newcastle University together with recruiters.

In addition to the English office, the PIPE Secretariat is currently working with members to establish branches in Calgary and Houston, as well as in Germany and the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg.

“Our growing membership is based in every part of the world: we are an institute upon which the sun never sets,” says Mr Lentell.

Aiming high

The group aims to promote the importance of maintaining and improving the standards of pipeline engineering for all types of pipeline transportation – for hydrocarbons and associated materials, both onshore and offshore – and to acknowledge and promote the status of those involved with their design, construction, operation and maintenance.

As part of this, PIPE focuses on the importance of operating pipelines with the highest standards of integrity and safety, and is proactive in promoting best practice in the minimisation of environmental impact from pipelines of all types.

“Clearly the ageing international pipeline network provides an enormous challenge in terms of maintaining integrity, alongside the increasing issues concerning third-party damage and encroachment onto pipeline rights-of-way. In parallel, new pipelines are being planned for remote locations where they will have to withstand increasingly extreme environmental conditions both during construction and over their operating lifetimes,” says Mr Lentell.

The group provides opportunities for identifying research opportunities in this field, and aims to eventually be a source of funding for collaborative research and development projects.

As an example, Mr Lentell explains, “Pipeline engineering has a pivotal role to play in the plans for carbon capture and storage for which – if international plans currently being discussed actually come to fruition – an equivalent network to the natural gas transportation network will be required.

“PIPE intends to be at the forefront of establishing a permanent network of contact and exchange for those with an interest in captured carbon pipelines.”

Mr Lentell says “Through PIPE, we want to maintain the standard of a professional qualification for those involved in this industry, which reflects members’ personal experience and status.”