At The Podium

Inherent in opportunities are risks, and conversely, risks often present opportunities, even if the opportunity may be to just manage the risk better than others. This session will explore three areas where risk and opportunity meet for pipeline operators. One area addressed will be new pipeline construction, specifically addressing DOT jurisdiction over new construction, when DOT’s jurisdiction arises in the case of a pipeline under construction that never has been in hazardous liquids service, ongoing enforcement matters associated with new systems, One Rule pre-construction reporting, and whether this is leading to new permitting requirements. Another risk-opportunity area will be a discussion of the ever expanding issues associated with pipeline security. This discussion will describe the exposures and solutions associated with SCADA security using examples that make the technical world of SCADA readily understandable to those non-technical persons who ultimately would be held responsible for security breaches and any incidents that could result. The other area addressed will be issues of exposure and liability in Integrity Management Programs. These programs, while they are expected to be increasingly mature, still present technical challenges including sometimes overwhelming amounts of information, both valuable and less than valuable, that mean risks in the form of legal exposure continue to grow.