There are over 20,000 miles (32,180 km) of pipeline currently in service in the Gulf of
Mexico. Approximately 2/3 are transmission pipelines. Of the transmission pipelines,
over 96% have a single diameter, and 70% operate between 1,000-2,000 psig (6,895-
13,790 kPa). The damage reports were reviewed, and approximately 39% were
attributed to corrosion. Internal corrosion damage was reported approximately four
times as frequently as external corrosion. The next most common cause for pipeline
was associated with natural events, such as subsea land slides and storms/hurricanes.
Surveys were conducted with the offshore operators to identify their approaches to
integrity management. It was found that they have adopted risk-based approaches to
integrity management, and rely heavily upon various monitoring techniques, coupled
with the implementation of preventative measures, such as corrosion inhibition, etc.