IMPORTANCE OF OIL PIPELINE SECURITY FOR MINIMISING PIPELINE DAMAGE

This paper presents a model for predicting pressure and velocity in the Franco-Tunisian oil company network. This oil company produces a flammable mixture of natural gas, oil and water. To protect the oil pipelines, the Company has limited the maximum velocity when transporting these effluents to 6 m/s. If the velocity becomes more important, the friction forces may provoke the fire of the effluent. The main objectives of the present study are to verify this condition. The FTOC network is very complex composed of interconnected pipes forming several loops or circuits. To verify the security condition, a FORTRAN computer programme based on the Hardy-Cross method is elaborated. The programme determines the variables of the network (discharge, velocity, pressure, head loss) in steady state flow. Computed results are analysed and solutions are proposed to satisfy the network security.