From all that the Surveillance, Operations & Management Technical Committee accomplished in 2023, three are especially noteworthy: ROW-1-01, ROW-3-1/1A’s final reports approved, and Pl-1-9 being started and nearly completed last year with final report already under review.  Each of these projects helped move technology steps closer to industry deployments and adoption. Additionally, SOM changed industry this year by kicking off two Strategic Research Priorities: the Leak Detection SRP and the GeoHazard Management SRP.

Also of note, in Pl-1-09, the smallest leak that the technology was able to detect using the Data Analytics tool was 1/32” or .79375 mm which is less than 1 mm and less than most conventional ILI tool tolerances. This is very impressive using a low-fidelity multi-sensing inspection ball (MSIB) with the PipeHawk software. I believe the researcher from ROW-3-1/1A has achieved BVLOS waiver from the FAA using the process outlined the R&D project.

This year could best be described with the phrase Reduce Asset Risks. Identifying right-of-way threats and lowering loss of containment through proper prevention and mitigative measures identified in the R&D projects leads to better environmental stewardship in the industry.