2nd Virtual Pipeline Summit gathered pipeline professionals from 74 countries
After the first Virtual Pipeline Summit (VPS) was held in June with great success, the 2nd VPS on “Leak Detection and Third-Party Impact Prevention” took place on 7 October 2020. A total of 697 pipeline experts from 74 different countries registered for the lecture program with extended network functions. More than 30% of those participants were coming from pipeline operators.
Pipelines can face various internal and external conditions which cannot always be exactly predicted or controlled by pipeline operators. Pipeline leakages, third-party damage and illegal tapping are severe problems not only regarding economic aspects but also in terms of safety, integrity, and the environmental impact of pipeline systems. Pipeline operators can choose from a variety of both internal and external leak detection and third-party impact prevention & detection systems available on the market.
The summit was opened with a comprehensive overview on “Operational Experience with Various Leak Detection and Third-Party Impact Prevention Systems” by Dr. Axel Scherello, Project Leader at Open Grid Europe.
The subsequent discussion round, led by Michael Cech of OMV and with participants from Canada, Brazil and Colombia, addressed the problem of illegal tapping in greater depth. In a lively discussion with the participants of the summit, various technical, economic and social aspects of the problem were discussed. In order to further support the international exchange of experience, there will be another illegal tapping round-table discussion exclusively for pipeline operators at the upcoming Pipeline Technology Conference 2021 in Berlin.
Several market leaders in the field of leak detection were represented in a virtual exhibition and answered questions from the audience during their technical presentations. The participants made extensive use of the chance to get in touch with the participating companies and to talk to each other via a LinkedIn-like activity feed and to exchange virtual business cards with each other.
Even beyond the date of the live event, the participants followed up with the speakers and the other representatives from the virtual exhibitors with their questions that had not been answered during the sessions. Moreover, all live content will stay online as recorded videos for participants who were not been able to join the live video feed.
The organizing EITEP Institute is already working on the announcement of the upcoming 3rd Virtual Pipeline Summit to be held in December and on the preparation of the 16th Pipeline Technology Conference & Exhibition that will take place in Berlin from 15-18 March 2021.