The PRCI Pipeline Program Hosted the 4Th Annual Research Exchange Meeting on February 1

Contact: Natalie Tessel Coordinator, Membership & Communications Pipeline Research Council International, Inc. (703) 205-1600 [email protected]

NEWS RELEASE

PRCI HOLDS FIFTH ANNUAL RESEARCH EXCHANGE MEETING FOR ENERGY PIPELINE RESEARCH

Falls Church, VA, March 1, 2011 – Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) hosted its fifth annual Pipeline Program Research Exchange Meeting on February 1 - 3, 2011 at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of the meeting is to provide PRCI members with updates on key completed research and projects that have reached vital milestones. This research is focused on improving pipeline safety and integrity.

Attendance at the 2011 annual meeting reached record numbers, with the participation of over 230 attendees including PRCI member company representatives, key researchers in the pipeline industry, and US and Canadian regulators. A participant from PRCI member Panhandle Energy stated, “There are excellent networking opportunities, technology advances, and possible solutions to longstanding problems to be found in this meeting. It is important to be on the forefront of these breakthroughs, and I think PRCI is the place to find them.”

To accommodate the breadth of research, the meeting was organized into four parallel technical tracks:

 Corrosion led by Committee Chair Albert van Roodselaar of Chevron;  Design, Materials and Construction led by Committee Chair Tom Zimmerman of Enbridge;  Mechanical Damage led by Operations and Integrity Committee Chair, Mures Zaréa of GDF Suez; and,  Operations and Integrity led by Committee Vice-chair John O’Brien of Chevron.

Presenters reported developments across the pipeline technology spectrum, including:

 Design improvements for pipelines that transport CO2 with impurities responding to the increasing interest on carbon sequestration and the use of CO2 for enhanced oilfield recovery.  Strain based design which is especially useful for pipelines in arctic regions, off shore, and in areas of geologic instability.  Innovations in technologies for detecting and characterizing mechanical damage and improved analytical models for assessing the impacts after damage occurs.  Mechanical damage prevention using sensor-based systems for in- ground and aerial application.  Non destructive evaluation of pipeline condition, including composite materials inspection and inspection through coatings.  Advanced technologies and data algorithms for leak detection.

An important secondary aspect of the Research Exchange Meeting was the discussion of ideas for future work. Some of these ideas will be further developed and lead into the 2012 PRCI Research Program.

PRCI strives to provide opportunities to enhance the value of membership and participation. The Research Exchange Meeting has proven to be one such opportunity, as consistently reflected in the feedback from PRCI’s members. Visit www.prci.org/index.php/site/video2 to experience the benefit and value of participating in the Research Exchange Meeting through the first-hand accounts of PRCI’s members.

PRCI is a non-profit research organization that is comprised of energy pipeline operating companies located in the United States, Europe, Canada, South America, and the Middle East. Augmenting the pipeline membership are associate members drawn from companies in the United States, Canada, Europe, China, Mexico, Japan, and Australia that serve the industry as pipe and equipment manufacturers, service providers, and vendors. To learn more about PRCI, visit www.prci.org .