Oil Pipeline Geohazard Risk Mitigation via On-Line Optical Fiber Strain Monitoring

Pipelines are naturally vulnerable to operational, environmental and man-made effects such as internal erosion and corrosion; mechanical deformation due to geophysical risks and ground movements. This paper describes the on-line monitoring ofmultiple critical sections ofburied oil pipelines, part of Ecopetrol’s transportation network across the country, which were experiencing mechanical deformations due to local soil and geohazard effects using fiber optic strain sensors. Over 1,000 individual fiber optic Bragg grating (FBG) strain sensors were installed across 72 different sectors dispersed across the Colombian pipeline network. The system has been in service since 2013 and has helped provide early warning on several severe pipeline accumulated strain deformations and imminent ruptures, as well as to understand the mechanical behavior on buried pipelines under diverse soil geohazard conditions.