“Third-party damage is the most significant integrity threat to both liquid and gas networks globally,” Jesus Soto, vice president of operations services for El Paso, said. “Installing the sensors on our Houston-area pipeline underscores our continued commitment to protecting the integrity of our assets.”
PII’s ThreatScan sensors are installed at specific locations along a pipeline in order to detect vibrations that could potentially signal an actual impact or a possible encroachment along a pipeline’s right-of-way. When a sensor detects vibrations, the data is immediately transmitted via satellite to GE Oil & Gas’ call centre in Houston, where the vibrations are quickly analysed. The operator is then quickly notified to investigate whether there has been an actual impact that requires remediation, or if there is a threat from a potential encroachment. GE operates a similar call centre at its headquarters site in Florence, Italy, to support European pipeline operators that have installed the system.