The design of coatings must be adequate to protect pipelines under long-term, severe
environmental conditions, including the extreme climatic conditions that will apply in the North before
the pipe is installed and operation begins. Practices and standardised methodologies for evaluating and
qualifying pipeline coatings for application in northern pipelines are discussed. Results from laboratory
and field experiments, carried out under the conditions to which coatings will be exposed during
construction, are presented. Based on one-year laboratory experiments in which samples were exposed
to temperatures as low as -45oC and three-year data from the field experiments, it is concluded that
Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standards CSA Z662, CSA Z245.20 and CSA Z245.21
adequately cover evaluation of coatings for northern pipelines. However, in order to evaluate the effects
of low temperatures, the specimens should be exposed for at least four months. Coatings qualified by
CSA Z245.21 system B1 and B2 are less affected by exposure to low temperatures than those qualified
by CSA Z245.21 system A1 and CSA Z245.20.