Pipeline transportation occurrences in 2022

This document covers federally regulated pipelines only. Any non-federally regulated pipeline data reported to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) are not included in this report.

The TSB gathers and uses transportation occurrence data (for both accidents and incidents)^{Footnote 1} during the course of its investigations to analyze safety deficiencies and identify risks in the Canadian pipeline transportation system.

This statistical summary serves to describe the accident, incident, and injury counts that are presented in the included tables. It provides limited discussion and some context but is not intended to be an in-depth analysis of the data. It should be noted that certain characteristics of the data constrain statistical analysis and identification of emerging trends. These include the small totals of accidents and incidents, the large variability in the data from year to year, and changes to regulations and definitions over time. The reader is cautioned to keep these limitations in mind when viewing this summary to avoid drawing conclusions that cannot be supported by statistical analysis.

The 2022 data were collected according to the reporting requirements described in the Transportation Safety Board Regulations in force during that calendar year.^{Footnote 2}

The statistics presented here reflect the TSB Pipeline Occurrence Database System (PODS) on February 27, 2023. Since the occurrence data are constantly being updated in the live database as additional information becomes available, the statistics may change slightly over time.

Also, as many occurrences are not formally investigated, information regarding some of the reported occurrences recorded in the database may not have been verified by the TSB.

The pipeline system

In the federally regulated pipeline system in 2022, 100 companies transported either oil or gas, or both, through approximately 19 950 km of oil pipelines and approximately 48 700 km of gas pipelines. A further 100 km of pipelines carried other commodities and substances. Altogether, this represents approximately 18.3 exajoules (EJ) of energy content transported.^{Footnote 3}

Pipeline transportation occurrences

In 2022, 67 pipeline transportation occurrences (including accidents and incidents)^{Footnote 4} were reported to the TSB (Table 1 and Figure 1). This number is well below the average number of occurrences for the previous 10 years (112 occurrences) and is the lowest number of occurrences since 2019 (when only 52 occurrences were recorded). Fluctuations to the reported numbers over this period may have resulted from various factors, including changes to regulations and definitions. One accident was reported in 2022, down from two accidents in 2021 and below the average of three accidents per year reported from 2012 to 2021.

As in previous years since 2017, in 2022, there were no serious injuries or fatalities arising directly from the operation of a federally regulated pipeline. Indeed, there have been no fatal accidents on a federally regulated pipeline system directly resulting from the operation of a pipeline since the inception of the TSB in 1990.

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Release of product

Of the 67 occurrences in 2022, 25 involved a release of product (Table 5). While far lower than the average of 64 per year over the previous 10 years, this was an increase from the 23 incidents with product release in 2021, and was the highest number of such occurrences since 2018 (41). The products released in these occurrences were as follows (Figure 2): 15 occurrences (1 accident and 14 incidents) released hydrocarbon gas: natural gas (rather than sour gas) in each case. Also, low vapour pressure (LVP) hydrocarbons were released in 7 incidents, all involving crude oil; this was the highest number of such releases since 2014. Three incidents resulted in the release of a liquid other than hydrocarbons, namely pulp process water (in all cases). In 2022, 42 occurrences did not involve a release of product, 12.5% below the average number of occurrences without release over the previous 10 years (48).

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Events other than product release

In 2022, 14 occurrences (all of them incidents) involved “geotechnical, hydrotechnical or environmental activity,” for example, slope movements or river erosion that exposed a length of pipe (Table 1 and Figure 3). This was the lowest level reported since 2019 (13 incidents) and was below the average of 17 incidents reported each year between 2012 and 2021.

There were 13 incidents of pipelines being contacted by an object in 2022 compared with the average of 8 such reports per year during the previous 10 years; there were also 6 incidents where “unauthorized third-party activity affects pipeline structural integrity,” compared with an average of 3 incidents per year over the previous 10 years. Eight incidents involved “operation of the pipeline beyond limits”, well below the average of 13 occurrences of this type between 2012 and 2021. In 2022, 8 fires were reported (1 accident and 7 incidents), slightly above the average of 7 per year for the previous 10 years. Of these, 1 accident and 1 incident in 2022 were reported as involving both fire and explosion.

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Geography

The largest number of occurrences in 2022 (25 out of 67) took place in Alberta (Table 2); this is a decrease from 28 occurrences in 2021. British Columbia had the largest decrease in occurrences between 2021 and 2022, from 47 to 15, due to a reduction in reported “Geotechnical/hydrotechnical/environmental activity.” Other provinces also saw decreases: reported occurrences in Ontario declined from 16 to 14, year over year; Saskatchewan declined from 4 to 3 occurrences, New Brunswick, from 8 to 3, and Quebec, from 10 reported occurrences to just 1. The only increases were reported in Manitoba (from 2 to 4 occurrences, year over year) and Nunavut, with 1 occurrence (none were previously reported). The Northwest Territories had 1 occurrence in 2022, the same as in 2021.

Facilities

As in 2021, a majority of occurrences in 2022 (63%; 42 of 67) occurred at locations along a pipeline, while 37% (25 of 67) occurred at facilities (Figure 4). This contrasts with the aggregate totals across the 10-year period 2012 to 2021, where there were 613 occurrences (55%) at facilities and 508 (45%) at locations along a pipeline (Table 3). Of the 25 occurrences (all of them incidents) at facilities in 2022, 10 occurred at compressor stations, 5 at pump stations, 3 at meter stations, 3 at terminals, and 4 at other facilities.

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Pipeline occurrence rate

An occurrence rate of 1.0 occurrence per 1000 km of operating pipeline was calculated for 2022 based on the 67 occurrences reported and the 68 700 km of federally regulated pipelines that were operational in Canada according to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) during the same year (Table 4 and Figure 5). This occurrence rate is down from 1.7 in 2021, and also below the average of 1.6 in the 10-year period 2012 to 2021.

The occurrence rate has generally fallen from 2.6 occurrences per 1000 km of operating pipeline in 2012 to 1.0 in 2022. To test whether the change in rate was statistically significant, Kendall’s tau-b (τ_b) correlation and Sen’s estimate of slope were used to quantify the trend in accident rate. Kendall’s τ_b correlation coefficient is a nonparametric measure of the strength and direction of association that exists between two variables. Kendall’s τb was calculated on the 11-year series of accident rate values by year from 2012 to 2022. The downward change in accident rate by pipeline length was not statistically significant over the period (τb = −0.4546, p = 0.0516).

An occurrence rate can also be calculated using exajoules (EJ) of energy as a denominator (Table 4 and Figure 5). In 2022, the equivalent of 18.3 EJ of energy were transported in federally regulated pipelines. This translates to a rate of 3.7 occurrences per EJ in 2022, a figure much lower than the 2021 rate of 6.7 and the 2012 to 2021 average of 7.0 occurrences per EJ. In this case, the change in occurrence rate per EJ did show a statistically significant downward trend over the period (τ_b = −0.6000, p = 0.0102). Sen’s estimate of slope, the amount of downward rate change per year, was -0.641 occurrences per EJ per year. A graphical illustration is presented in Figure 5.

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Data tables

Definitions

Before 1 July 2014

Before 1 July 2014 (under the previous Transportation Safety Board Regulations [TSB Regulations]), pipeline transportation accidents and incidents were defined as follows:

Pipeline accidents

Reportable commodity pipeline accident means an accident resulting directly from the operation of a commodity pipeline, where

1. a person sustains a serious injury or is killed as a result of being exposed to
1. a fire, ignition or explosion, or
2. a commodity released from the commodity pipeline, or
2. the commodity pipeline
1. sustains damage affecting the safe operation of the commodity pipeline as a result of being contacted by another object or as a result of a disturbance of its supporting environment,
2. causes or sustains an explosion, or a fire or ignition that is not associated with normal operating circumstances, or
3. sustains damage resulting in the release of any commodity.

Pipeline incidents

Reportable commodity pipeline incident means an incident resulting directly from the operation of a commodity pipeline, where

1. an uncontained and uncontrolled release of a commodity occurs,
2. the commodity pipeline is operated beyond design limits,
3. the commodity pipeline causes an obstruction to a ship or to a surface vehicle owing to a disturbance of its supporting environment,
4. any abnormality reduces the structural integrity of the commodity pipeline below design limits,
5. any activity in the immediate vicinity of the commodity pipeline poses a threat to the structural integrity of the commodity pipeline, or
6. the commodity pipeline, or a portion thereof, sustains a precautionary or emergency shut-down for reasons that relate to or create a hazard to the safe transportation of a commodity;

Since 1 July 2014

On 1 July 2014, new reporting provisions of the TSB Regulations came into effect; these were subsequently revised effective 22 November 2018 and appeared in the Canada Gazette 12 December 2018. According to section 4(1) of the TSB Regulations, the operator of a pipeline must report any of the following pipeline occurrences to the Board:

1. the pipeline sustains damage that affects the safe operation of the pipeline as a result of another object coming into contact with it;
2. an unauthorized third party activity affects the structural integrity of the pipeline;
3. a geotechnical, hydrotechnical or environmental activity poses a threat to the safe operation of the pipeline.

Under section 4(1.1), the operator must report any of the following pipeline occurrences to the Board if they result directly from the operation of the pipeline:

1. a person sustains a serious injury as defined in section 1 of the National Energy Board ^{Footnote 6} Onshore Pipeline Regulations or is killed;
2. there is a fire, ignition or explosion that
   1. affects the safe operation of the pipeline, or
   2. poses a threat to the safety of any person, property or the environment;
3. there is an occurrence that results in
   1. an unintended or uncontrolled release of hydrocarbon gas,
   2. an unintended or uncontrolled release of HVP hydrocarbons,
   3. an unintended or uncontrolled release of LVP hydrocarbons in excess of 1.5 m³, or
   4. an unintended or uncontrolled release of a commodity other than hydrocarbon gas, HVP hydrocarbons or LVP hydrocarbons;
4. there is a release of a commodity from the line pipe body;
5. the pipeline is operated beyond design limits or any operating restrictions imposed by the National Energy Board;
6. the pipeline restricts the safe operation of any mode of transportation.

Since 1 May 2018

Since May 1, 2018, the TSB Policy on Occurrence Classification defines Pipeline accidents and Pipeline incidents as follows:

Pipeline accidents

A pipeline accident is an occurrence resulting directly from the operation of a pipeline that results in:

1. serious injury or loss of human life;
2. a rupture (an instantaneous release that immediately affects the operation of a pipeline segment such that the pressure of the segment cannot be maintained);
3. a fire, ignition or explosion that poses a threat to the safety of any person, property or the environment; or
4. an unintended or uncontrolled release of commodity which results in a significant adverse effect on people or the environment (a release of any chemical or physical substance at a concentration or volume sufficient to cause an irreversible, long-term, or continuous change to the ambient environment in a manner that causes harm to human life, wildlife, or vegetation).

Pipeline incidents

A pipeline incident is

1. an occurrence in which
1. the pipeline sustains damage that affects the safe operation of the pipeline as a result of another object coming into contact with it,
2. an unauthorized third party activity affects the structural integrity of the pipeline, or
3. a geotechnical, hydrotechnical or environmental activity poses a threat to the safe operation of the pipeline;
2. an occurrence resulting directly from the operation of a pipeline in which
1. there is a fire, ignition or explosion that affects the safe operation of the pipeline,
2. there is an unintended or uncontrolled release of hydrocarbon gas,
3. there is an unintended or uncontrolled release of HVP (high vapour pressure as defined in CSA Z662. CSA Z662 means Canadian Standards Association Standard Z662, entitled Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems, as amended from time to time) hydrocarbons,
4. there is an unintended or uncontrolled release of LVP (low vapour pressure as defined in CSA Z662) hydrocarbons in excess of 1.5 m³,
5. there is an unintended or uncontrolled release of a commodity other than hydrocarbon gas, HVP hydrocarbons or LVP hydrocarbons,
6. there is a release of a commodity from the line pipe body,
7. the pipeline is operated beyond design limits or any operating restrictions imposed by the Canada Energy Regulator, or
8. the pipeline restricts the safe operation of any mode of transportation.