Evaluation of Operational Risk and Influence on Oil and Gas Pipelines within the Niger Delta Region

Abstract

The primary interest in setting up engineering ventures, especially oil and gas, which are known to be highly capital intensive, is to make a profit. It is pertinent to note that oil and gas pipelines are subjected to severe environmental hazards, which can invariably affect and limit their reliability and functionality. These pipelines must be regularly, technically checked, and adequately maintained so the expected financial advantage will be an illusion. Therefore, the primary interest of this study is to conduct operational risk evaluation and economic consequences on oil and gas pipelines within the Niger Delta region. The operational conditions of selected pipelines were identified and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative risk techniques. The ANSYS Software was employed to analyze the stress induced by the pipelines. At the same time, statistical analysis of variance was used to segment the associated hazards by the magnitude of occurrence and contribution to the overall cause of failure. The results showed that mechanical failure was predominant at a value of 0.0000844/yr.km, while natural hazards contributed the lowest value of 0.0000141/yr.km. For ruptures, the risk measures for the pipeline parts, Lo1, Lo2, Lo3, Lo4, oL5, Lo6, Lo7, Lo8, and Lo9, were of low-risk class. The second segment (Lo2) had the highest risk measure for ruptures of 2,160,300 yearly, while the eighth segment (Lo8) of the pipeline had the least risk measure for rupture to the sum of 6903750 yearly. More investigation shows that the pipeline's second segment (Lo2) had the highest risk measured in monetary terms, at 1503000000 Naira per year. The pipeline's eighth segment (Lo8) had the lowest risk at 6,903,750 Naira annually. The stress experienced by the pipeline depends significantly on the thickness of the pipeline.