The power sector consumes between 60 and 70 per cent of South East Asia’s natural gas, making pipelines an essential part of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) community from a social and economic perspective.

At present, there are close to 2,500 km of bilateral natural gas pipeline interconnections between South East Asian countries. These pipelines are built to world class standards.

There is continuing discussion among the national oil companies in South East Asia, through the ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE), to meet the objective of ASEAN energy security. One of the key initiatives is the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline Project, which is taking shape progressively.

Wear and tear on gas pipelines cannot be avoided, as corrosion and accidental damage can occur when least expected. It is therefore inevitable that pipeline integrity management and timely repair of pipelines is crucial in an integrated pipeline system. Carelessness in integrity management and prolonged delays will cause major disruption to commercial and industrial operations and may endanger the community.

In response to this, the South East Asia Pipeline Operators Group (SEAPOG) identified the Emergency Pipeline Repair Equipment Sharing (EPRES) initiative in Apirl 2007. The EPRES provides a mechanism that mitigates risk and addresses the timely repair of pipelines.

Facilitated by the ASCOPE Gas Centre, SEAPOG met in Singapore in April 2007 to share and exchange knowledge and experiences with respect to pipeline operations, maintenance, design and construction. This meeting identified high priority initiatives for pipeline operators in the region. The EPRES emerged as one of these key SEAPOG initiatives.

A sharing pipeline environment

As the first step, Petronas discussed its pipeline repair practices among the regional pipeline operations in Malaysia. Upstream domestic operations are conducted through production sharing contracts with operators like Petronas Carigali, ExxonMobil, Shell, Murphy Oil, Talisman Energy, Hess Corporation, Nippon Oil, Newfield Exploration Company and several joint operators.

Shared services and spare equipment exchanges are common practice among pipeline operators in Malaysia. The industry works on a co-operative basis with a common interest of timely repair and minimal disruption to oil and gas operations. The principle of borrow and return/replace and outright sale has been practised. A transparent pipeline spares and repair equipment inventory is posted in a common web-based network, in order to allow prompt access in any pipeline emergency. This arrangement allows effective utilisation of spares and repair equipment, while assisting the oil and gas industry to achieve a ‘win-win’ approach in managing pipeline emergencies.

The basis of mutual agreement where willing parties share their inventories is the key to addressing timely mitigation of pipeline emergencies. However, parties only have access to items that other parties are willing to share. Items not listed are negotiated either on a goodwill or commercial basis between the parties during pipeline emergencies.

The possible emergency pipeline repair equipment to be shared includes:

• Pressure containment clamps;
• Mechanical connectors;
• Line pipe;
• Elbow bends and connectors; and
• Composite repair equipment.

Following the development of a Draft Principles of Sharing document, the first team meeting was held in July 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia. A second draft was developed and reviewed at the second meeting in Melaka, Malaysia, in November 2008. The final version of the SEAPOG EPRES Sharing Principles will be presented at the fifth SEAPOG meeting in Thailand in April 2009. The initiative took about two years to complete, but it was a rewarding experience because for the first time SEAPOG, through its members, was able to develop a regional level pipeline repair equipment sharing mechanism. This marks the beginning of a more co-operative agenda in the region related to the pipeline sector.

The initiative was recognised as an important milestone at the ASCOPE council meeting in December 2008. It shows the level of cohesiveness among oil and gas pipeline operators and owners in the South East Asia region. There has been substantial support received from the authorities, particularly the Customs Department of Malaysia, who has enlightened the team on the scope of the ASEAN level customs agreement framework to facilitate timely and un-obstructive clearance for intra-ASEAN goods movements. The ‘Green Lane’ facility, which assists timely pipeline emergency repair equipment movement across borders, is now being actively pursued.

Meanwhile, the ASCOPE Gas Centre has agreed to host the Emergency Pipeline Repair Equipment Inventory. Access to this forum will be restricted to participating members only, enabling them to source pipeline repair equipment during emergencies.

The team’s future program includes the sharing of service contracts involving pipeline repair and the establishment of a pipeline operators exchange program that will to develop pipeline operations and repair capabilities.

EPRES is an important initiative that will evolve over time with more commitment from other pipeline owners and operators in South East Asia. Governments and the private sector can work together constructively to meet the region’s energy security needs and the customers they serve.