Oil and the petroleum-based fuels that are derived from it are the most critical resource the United States has possession of. Without it, industry and commerce would grind to a halt, consumers would be unable to travel for business or pleasure, and the nation as we know it would fall into chaos. While this is an extreme example – it is hard to imagine all the oil in the country running out at once – even minor interruptions in the flow of this most precious of commodities can have immediate economic, political, and social repercussions.

For this important reason, energy companies such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp. make it a top priority to support the efforts of refineries and distributors who are working hard to keep their pipelines well-maintained and in prime condition to continue supplying America with oil and fuel.

The Dangers Of Pipeline Deterioration

Most followers of the oil industry remember 2006 as the year that major oil company BP was forced to shut down its Prudhoe Bay pipeline due to pipe failure brought on by a lack of proper maintenance. Leaking pipes caused almost a quarter-million gallons of oil to be lost on the surface of the Alaskan wilderness and drew negative attention from people around the world.

During the time this pipeline was shut down, almost a full 10% of our nation’s domestic production of oil was snatched away. Aside from the environmental impact of the leaked oil on the once-pristine North Slope, the economic ramifications were simply impossible to ignore.

The tragedy of this entire incident is that it could have been completely avoided by the use of a special device called a smart pig, or scraper pig, that travels the entire length of the pipeline, detecting areas that are subject to corrosion and wear. This device had been used to test the pipeline before, but that was well over a decade earlier. Because the pipeline was carrying one of the cleaner varieties of crude oil, it was assumed corrosion would not occur.

In all fairness, this type of deterioration is quite uncommon on low pressure pipelines such as BP’s, and overall the frequency of pipeline issues has actually decreased since the beginning of the decade due to the vigilant maintenance efforts that companies such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp. perform every year.

The Importance of Proper Pipeline Maintenance

It is critical to consider how important it is that our nation’s pipeline infrastructure is properly maintained and cared for. While such efforts cost time and money – sometimes in large quantities of each – the costs associated with managing a failure are much higher. Just imagine how much money was lost when a near tenth of US oil production ground to a halt. It is because of the gravity of this issue that companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. never take the responsibility of maintaining our nation’s oil infrastructure for granted. Without proper care and upkeep, the consequences would be unacceptable.