Description:
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) regulation changes, commonly referred to as the “Mega Rule,” were developed to enhance the safety of gas transmission and gathering pipelines in the United States. An opportunity exists for operators to gain compliance certainty by further leveraging value from records and data integration programs by fully exploiting a strategy to employ ECA (192.624 Method 3) and engineering methods as a universal approach for Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure Reconfirmation (MAOP-R). This strategy will generally require orders of magnitude fewer resources but make a significantly larger business impact, limiting the use of hydrotests (Method 1) pipe replacement (Method 4), and pressure reductions (Method 2&5) as niche / specific-condition approaches.
In a business environment of limited debt and equity capital, high-interest rates, and continued cost pressures from customers and industry regulators, optimizing MAOP-R compliance via state-of-the-art technology and engineering approaches creates a “win-win-win” between operators, regulators, and the public. To address the current economic and regulatory climate, Dynamic Risk has been working collaboratively with major pipeline companies that operate a large portion of the gas pipeline mileage across the United States. Our core safety and reliability domain expertise facilitates the development of data and technology-enabled programs and practices, which are critical to optimally meet the time-sensitive requirements of the Mega Rule.
In this recorded presentation, Ben Mittelstadt, VP, Strategic Business, and Dan Williams, Principal Consultant, explore the foundational elements of the business case and strategy of primarily leveraging ECAs for MAOP-R and successfully adhere to PHMSA’s requirements for Part 192 Ruling.