Plex Projects
December 2020
Executive Summary
The Pipeline Abandonment Research Steering Committee (PARSC), a working body within the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC), initiated PARSC 017 to implement recommendations from “Review of Previous Pipeline Abandonment Programs, Phase 3 – Abandonment on Farmland” (PARSC 015) to perform a subsurface assessment of NPS 34 Enbridge Line 3 between Edmonton and Hardisty abandoned between 1978 and 1980. The project objectives included collecting, analyzing and comparing in-situ data against model predictions generated in PARSC 001, “Understanding the Mechanisms of Corrosion and their Effects on Abandoned Pipelines.”
Three site locations along Enbridge Line 3 were evaluated, including MP 27.5276 and MP 29.52 in August 2020, and MP 80.4655 in November 2019. The field assessments included:
No soil subsidence, contamination, nor through wall penetration was observed at any of the three sites. The PE tape wrap coating was found to be in good condition for its vintage, with minor holidays, damage, and disbondment. Moderate wrinkling patterns were observed along the axial and circumferential directions, as well as tenting along the pipe seam.