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The demand for natural gas in residential and industrial areas is very high. The complex pipeline structures deliver natural gas from the production point to the consumer. Generally, a high transmission long‐distance pipeline feeds the distribution pipeline for delivering natural gas in household and industrial activities. The system comprises a transmission pipeline connected with many regulator stations. Any instance of breakdown in the system may interrupt the operation. To overcome any hazard, regulators can isolate a specific section from the supply line. Data regarding natural gas pipeline failure events can determine the weak point of the gas pipeline. The natural gas pipeline leak may result in decreased air quality, fire explosion, human casualties, and economic penalties. To identify the causes, sensitive point analysis of gas pipeline failure can reduce the potential risk and enhance safety integrity for preventing accidents. The three major gas pipeline failure causes are pipe/weld material failure, excavation damage, and corrosion.

Gas Pipeline Failure

    Defect and deterioration

•    Decrease load bearing capacity
•    Ageing pipe

  Incorrect operation

•    Incorrect assessing
•    Opening wrong

 Natural force damage

•    Lightning
•    Earth movement
•    Snow accumulation
•    Frost heave

Construction failure

•    Wrinkling coupling failures
•    Improper backfill
•    Weld defect (girth/ sprill)

Failure due to human error

•    Lack of frequent inspection/ unsafe acts
•    Inappropriate maintenance practice
•    Bolts are not tightening properly
•    Error in documentation

 Equipment failure

•    Malfunction valves/ pumps/ tanks/ meters/ compressor

Corrosion and cracking

•     External corrosion
•     Internal corrosion
•     Metal loss
•     Develop crack

    Third party damage

•    Ground construction
•     Ignorance of safety sign
•     Digging by heavy machinery

Accidental failure

•     Accident by vehicle
•     High pressure pipeline rupture
•     Nearby industry explosion

Engineering fault

•     Defects of design
•     Fabrication and manufacturing defects
•     Inadequate pipeline load calculation

The main objective of this study is to identify the most crucial natural gas pipeline failure causes and interrelation analysis. The investigation reveals the causes of a natural gas pipeline disaster.

Who should use the Gas Pipeline Failure template?

• This fishbone diagram helps to conduct root cause analysis (RCA) for issues in a natural gas pipeline. This template can help the key stakeholders in the gas pipeline system or anyone interested in mitigating the problem.

Why use this template?

• This fishbone helps to understand and identify factors that initiate leakage, explosion or any accident in a gas pipeline system.
• Anyone can change the template in the smartQED environment while troubleshooting the problem.
• Create or customize your templates for various problems and incident analysis in smartQED.

Curated from community experience and public sources:

• https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Natural-gas-pipeline-failure-root-cause-analysis_fig1_348931287