FROM OUR PRESIDENT

Knowledge Transfer: 

In 2019, PRCI held more webinars than in any previous year, covering a wide-range of relevant topics from Guidelines for the Integrity Assessment of Difficult to Inspect Pipelines to The Compatibility of Polymeric Materials in Hydrogen Service. These webinars reached over 3,000 attendees, either live or via on-demand viewing, which is the exact goal of our webinar program: to reach industry and turn research results into implementable solutions.

The 2019 Research Exchange saw our largest attendance yet with nearly 400 attendees, 40+ presentations and four roundtable discussions. The Research Exchange is a key event for sharing research results and we look forward to its continued growth.

The creation of more compendia – creating a single document to use as a reference for accessing research on a related topic – is another great accomplishment of the organization last year. A keyword search in the online PRCI store for “compendium” will return a list of available topics, with more being added as we go into 2020.

Workshops also played a role in our knowledge transfer activities in 2019. We utilized the TechnologyDevelopment Center for many of the sessions, and held workshops on topics related to dent management, non-destructive testing, and low-strain hardening. We also held a geohazard management workshop in conjunction with the Pipeline Technical Committee meetings in May. These were focused events that provide a deeper dive on key issues facing industry and the solutions that PRCI has developed.

Be sure you are signed up for PRCI communications so you don’t miss any of the knowledge transfer events happening in 2020.

Research Program:

You will continue to hear a lot about PRCI’s Strategic Research Priorities (SRPs). The SRPs currently under development are a strategy to solve key industry challenges from the point of view of various technical disciplines. The SRPs are intended to consist of three to four years’ worth of research efforts to resolve larger issues and move the industry further toward its goal of attaining zero incidents. These SRPs are being developed with input from our members, industry, government, and public stakeholder groups.

Speaking of input from other groups, PRCI has strengthened its partnerships with many different regulator bodies in 2019. As an example, we participated on the U.S. Department of Energy - National Petroleum Council U.S. Oil & Natural Gas Transportation Infrastructure Study and worked with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review the AERMOD rules. These engagements have enabled PRCI to impact the direction of policies for pipeline systems through our research output.

Finally, saving the best for last, PRCI was awarded seven contracts for research problems from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) with a total value of nearly $4 million in co-funding over three years. This is the largest single award given to any group in the history of PHMSA’s research program. Continue reading the Year in Review for more details on these collaborative research projects.

These are just a couple of the key activities that brought PRCI and its members great success in 2019. In closing, I would ask, if you are not a member of PRCI, why not? The benefits of membership are countless, as are the positive impacts we make on the industry at large.