Current technical condition of main pipelines and assessment of environmental safety during trans-portation of energy carriers through them
Authors: Bogatov Oleg , Suponev Vladimir , Ragulin Vitaliy , Yaryzhko Aleksandr , Musiiko Volodymyr 
Published: December 2022

Problem. Analysis of the technical condition of main pipelines and effective ways to improve it are proposed. A methodology and scale for assessing environmental safety during the transportation of energy carriers has been developed, which is approximate in nature and can help identify relevant trends in changing the environmental condition during certification of construction objects, assessing their environmental safety and feasibility of further operation. At the same time, the universal engineering-ecological scale of the state of the natural-technical geosystem is determined by such indicators as the level of technical impact, the volume and quality of restoration, and the time allocated to the restoration of the state of the environment. On the basis of the conducted analysis and the created methodology, conclusions were made about the need to accelerate the pace of works on the reconstruction of main oil and gas systems. It was established that a significant share of the work is associated with a large number of earthworks. Goal. The purpose of the research is to develop a methodology for assessing the environmental safety of pipeline communications for the transportation of energy carriers, taking into account the terms of their operation and current condition. Methodology. Determination of the permissible level of man-made impact of the engineering communications construction process on the environment was carried out taking into account the existing international requirements for a set of environmental indicators. For the general characterization of the influence of pipeline systems after the completion of construction of pipelines and during their operation, in terms of technological and environmental safety, a methodology was proposed, which consists in determining the coefficient of "social" attractiveness according to the obtained calculations. Results. According to the calculations made on the indicator of "social" attractiveness, it was established that, if a decision is made to leave the state of pipeline systems at the same level of social attractiveness until 2075, it will be necessary to increase the environmental safety requirements during their operation to = 0.95. But this is unlikely at the moment. If the conditions for maintaining environmental safety requirements (that is, a "satisfactory" level restored by human efforts) are established, it is possible to reduce the technical requirements for the condition of pipeline systems, for example, to the "dangerous" value of 0.3. At the same time, the second case will be more realistic and will allow the system to "last" for another 50 years. Practical meaning. The assessment of the prospective state of the pipelines according to the described methodology requires solving the problem of equipping mechanized structures with construction equipment (types, quantity, and their standard sizes). Advanced technology and a set of machines for its implementation are proposed for carrying out repair works, which do not involve the violation of the linear position of the pipeline and the stoppage of transportation of energy carriers through main networks.