Relationships

We work hard to forge strong relationships with coding and regulatory bodies to facilitate the implementation of these new technologies. We strive to work closely from the beginning with stakeholders, such as the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), National Energy Board (NEB) and Canadian Standards Association (CSA). This process has resulted in fewer issues at the implementation stage as they are already familiar with the new technology.

Pipeline Technology

TransCanada has been developing and implementing pipeline technologies for many years and significant progress has been made in many areas including high strength steel pipe, high productivity welding, advanced design methodology (strain-based design and reliability-based design), and alternative integrity validation. TransCanada maximizes the efficiency in technology development and implementation by collaborating with various partners including, other operators, manufactures, vendors, contractors, regulators, standard development organizations, consulting and research organizations.

For example, on the high strength steel pipe program, TransCanada works closely with manufacturers to ensure the pipe has specific properties required to fit the needs. We first test a product and then make recommendations to manufacturers to include unique steel properties based on specific requirements. We take into account factors such as design and operational requirements including pressure, external loads and pipe integrity.

These practices have resulted in the successful application of high-strength steel for TransCanada on many levels with significant cost savings. We were the first company in North America to install and gain operating experience with extensive amounts of X80 grade pipe. X80 is a step ahead of what is generally considered the industry standard (X70) for high-strength line pipe.

We were privileged to be the first company to install and use production quality X100 pipe to transport natural gas. And in working with ExxonMobil, we were the first to complete installation of X120, the highest-grade line pipe available. See the past Update article on Peerless / Godin Lake Technology for more details on this type of technology.

High-strength steel such as the X80 and X100, allows us to decrease the required wall thickness of the pipe and also to increase the pressure inside the pipe (more pressure = more gas transported). The result is an efficient, cost-effective design for the transportation of natural gas.

The cost of steel is 25-35 per cent of the total construction material costs of a major pipeline project. Decreasing pipeline wall thickness means less tonnage of steel for construction. Higher-strength steel can result in significant savings to the overall cost of the project.