A comprehensive study of techniques utilized for structural health monitoring of oil and gas pipelines

Abstract

An extensive network of pipelines is extensively employed worldwide to carry oil and gas fluids over millions of kilometers. The pipeline channel was constructed to resist environmental dynamic loading conditions to provide safe and reliable oil and gas fluids transportation from the production well sites to depot stations installed at sea coastlines. However, pipeline infrastructure damages such as fractures, cracks, leakages, etc., are significant sources of economic losses in pipeline operations. Moreover, pipeline failures can cause considerable ecological catastrophes, human deaths, and financial loss. Important research initiatives have been committed to establishing pipeline breach detection and localization using various techniques to avoid these threats and maintain a secure and dependable pipeline network. This paper reviews different state-of-the-art damage detection methods and their recent advancement with a case study explaining the application of light detection and ranging for pipeline damage detection. The pros and cons of diverse damage detection methods in pipeline networks are also discussed. Research gaps for pipeline damage detection systems are also provided for better understanding and future research.