Page 17 - DIVA_1_2007_No.28

Photo courtesy of Emerson Process ManagemenL"
as mandatory require- adequate corrosion protec- pipelines should be built in It is very difficult to say
ments. It is not only a diffe- tion. How many layers such a way and the metal since we only started last
rence in the way standard should be put on -- one, should be so thick, etc. year. For the time being,
are reached, it's also a dif- two, five? In Russia they we have a completely dif-
ference in the role of the might tell you put five. Q: Does this project only ferent attitude between the
State and industry, and this First, the State cannot concern Russia or are other companies from Western
is influencing some techni- accuse me of neglect; and countries involved? and Eastern Europe, there-
cal issues. In the West, second, I am protecting fore things take time.
there is a history of part- myself because the regula- The request came initially
nership between the private tions say that I should put from Russia, but what we are What is important is to get
sector and the government. on five layers of corrosion discussing concerns the people to understand that if
The private sector produ- protection. Tomorrow, if whole region. The interesting they introduce regulations,
ces pipelines that cor- my pipeline fails due to thing is to reach "trans- they should also look at
respond to the technical corrosion, it was not my border" regulations. The what is being done else-
requirements. If something fault because the State major oil and gas producers where --raising awareness
goes wrong, the company regulations prescribed five in the region have similar about the issue.
has to correct it. In some layers. concerns. The system of
Eastern European coun- regulations is changing in However, in my opinion
tries and in Russia, for Q: Who are the people Russia, but it is also chan- one of the most important
instance, there is mistrust using you as a forum for ging in Kazakhstan. Without issues is safety. Twenty
between the private sector discussions? dialogue you could end up years ago there was a terri-
and the government. The with pipelines conforming to bly cold winter in Siberia,
government does not have You have the producer of two completely different sets and there was a man who
confidence in industry. the gas, the companies that of regulations. This is a had a pipeline not to far
They would like to check built the pipeline and the waste. from his house. One day
operators.
everything and that's the pipeline he decided to drill a hole in
reason why they want clear Pipelines may be built by We are not trying to reinvent the pipeline to get some
rules. private companies and the wheel! We are trying to gas to heat his house. He
their sub-contractors invol- build these new regulations succeeded, but the conse-
What is rather funny is that ving the metallurgic, tech- on the basis of existing ones, quences were catastrophic.
industry too is asking for nical and mechanical whether American or ISO The whole village was
requirements!
clear industries. Once the pipe- standards. In some areas the blown up and all the inha-
standards. Why? Because lines are constructed, there regulations exist, in others bitants were killed. This is
they are afraid that the are managed by the opera- there are none. The philoso- only one illustration of
State will use its power tors. So there might be phy is that if you are doing why it's important to have
against them. Let us take hundreds or even thou- something, it should at least standards, but especially in
an example: corrosion on sands of different actors be unified with your neigh- the area of security. E
the pipelines. What is cor- involved-- all to a different bours.
rosion? According to some extent. They all have their Q: So when do you think
Western standards, it is said own ideas about different these standards will be
that the pipes should have "types of standards" --the adopted?
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