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Fluid withdrawal pipe installation at night

Fluid Withdrawal Testing: No. 1 of 9

The process typically involves: installing a metering skid and several large storage tanks onsite; connecting the skid to one of our pipelines; conducting controlled withdrawals, at specific rates and operating conditions, to test the sensitivity of our computerized leak detection systems; and reinjecting the oil back into the pipeline following tests.

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Fluid Withdrawal Testing: No. 2 of 9

We conduct these tests under different kinds of pipeline operating conditions—startup, shutdown, shut-in, and operational at various flow rates.

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Fluid Withdrawal Testing: No. 3 of 9

These skid-based fluid withdrawals held one to two times a year—including a large-scale event near Decatur, Illinois, in June 2017 along our Southern Access Extension (SAX) pipeline—assure us that Enbridge's computerized leak detection systems are working as designed.

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Fluid Withdrawal Testing: No. 4 of 9

Fluid withdrawal tests can be announced in advance to our operations staff at Enbridge’s pipeline control center.

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Fluid Withdrawal Testing: No. 5 of 9

Fluid withdrawal tests can also be planned as unannounced events (otherwise known as “side streaming”) to prove both the effectiveness of our computerized leak detection systems and the processes followed by personnel when our systems go into alarm.

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Fluid Withdrawal Testing: No. 6 of 9

Enbridge’s other leak detection activities include the practice of side streaming, the use of overlapping computerized models, and hydraulic pipeline simulation systems.

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Fluid Withdrawal Testing: No. 7 of 9

“By supporting the leak detection program, on top of multiple prevention activities, Enbridge is showing it’s committed to pipeline safety—and committed to doing it right,” says Cam Meyn, a supervisor of leak detection testing and research with Enbridge.

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Fluid Withdrawal Testing: No. 8 of 9

“A leak is something you hope you never see, and generating data for our computerized leak detection systems can be difficult,” notes Camille Downs-Lanctot, who manages Enbridge’s fluid withdrawal program. “One way of doing that is to actually get out there in the field and physically withdraw product from the pipeline."

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Fluid Withdrawal Testing: No. 9 of 9

Over the past five years, from 2012 through 2016, Enbridge’s Leak Detection team has conducted a total of 75 fluid withdrawal tests—either skid-based or side streaming activities—at 21 locations across our North American pipeline network.

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