6 Geohazard Management

The suite of activities constituting geohazard management practice has seen considerable advancements in recent years as the topic has gained prominence within the pipeline community. It is interesting to take stock as to why this topic is becoming increasingly important. At the time of this book's publication, there are at least five major drivers contributing to this topic's advancement which will be briefly discussed, namely:

1. A better understanding of the prevalence and frequency of these hazards

2. A range of business drivers promoting proactive management of these hazards

3. The availability of new enabling tools as a matter of state of practice

4. Worldwide pipeline expansion in areas of difficult terrain

5. An active peer community contributing to this evolving specialized topic Several publications provide a sense of the prevalence and frequency of geohazards. Table 1 summarizes reported pipeline failure frequencies associated with geohazards from various areas around the world. Caution is required in reviewing and applying these general statistics given inconsistent recording of pipeline failure causes and in the calculation methods of of reported frequencies.