PIPELINE SECURITY

Pipeline Security

Pipeline Security

Pipeline Security

Some 470,000 miles of oil and gas transmission pipeline crisscross the United States, with links to Mexico and Canada (Karen, 2002). These pipelines run throughout the country, but the greatest concentration connects the major energy-producing regions in the South with the major energy-consuming regions in the Northeast (There are roughly 180,000 miles of oil pipeline in the United States carrying over 75% of the nation's crude oil and around 60% of its refined petroleum products. Some 180 companies operate the interstate lines, which account for roughly 80 % of total pipeline mileage and transported volume (Pressley, 2001). The largest U.S. pipeline is the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), which transports crude oil from Alaska's North Slope oil fields to the marine terminal in Valdez. TAPS runs some 800 miles and delivers roughly 17% of United States domestic oil production. Like TAPS, major oil pipelines generally terminate at logistics hubs which typically link multiple pipelines, maintain substantial storage facilities and serve as gateways for regional distribution by truck, tanker, barge, or other means (David, 2001).

Importance of Pipeline Security

The U.S. natural gas pipeline network consists of around 210,000 miles of interstate transmission, plus approximately 75,000 miles of intrastate transmission. Around 80 systems make up the interstate network. Another 60 or so systems operate strictly within individual states. These interstate and intrastate transmission pipelines feed around 1.1 million miles of regional lines in some 1,300 local distribution networks. Collectively, these gas pipelines transport nearly all of the natural gas in the United States. Gas pipelines serve electric generation and industrial customers directly, and link through “city gates” to regional distribution mains which, in turn, feed the local service lines of retail gas consumers. Some pipelines are also connected to liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks which augment pipeline gas supplies during peak demand periods. According to the Department of Energy, there are 113 active LNG facilities in the U.S., mostly in the Northeast, many located near populated areas.

Federal warnings about Al Qaeda threats since September 11, 2001 have repeatedly mentioned energy infrastructure broadly, and pipelines specifically, as potential terror targets in the United States (Yereth, 2002). These warnings included the discovery in late 2001 that computer hackers in the Middle East had infiltrated San Francisco area sites detailing information about local electricity systems, along with other critical infrastructure. In June of 2003, U.S. intelligence agencies warned about a possible al-Qaeda attack on energy facilities, including pipelines, in Houston. To date, there have been no actual attacks on these sites, but operators remain alert. Despite substantial private and public efforts to promote security, it is widely recognized that pipelines are inherently vulnerable (Lumpkin, 2004). The fact that pipelines run largely underground reduces their exposure to external threats, but required markings tell emergency responders, homeowners and terrorists where pipelines are located. Rather than trying to uniformly protect their entire systems, operators emphasize the security of especially vulnerable areas, such as river crossings, control centers, junctions, and storage ...