Clearly this revision has taken considerably longer than the usual revision schedule. It is a credit to the responsible Standards Australia committee (ME38-1), the management committee (ME38) Standards Australia, and the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) that the commitment to develop and publish this revision of the Standard has been maintained through the extended development period.

This revision undertook two major tasks: to consider a request from industry to raise the design factor for new pipelines from 0.72 to 0.80 and to provide a process whereby the maximum allowable operating pressure of an existing pipeline could be increased, and to review and revise accordingly the pipeline safety and risk assessment section introduced to the Standard in 1997.

The design subcommittee decided that in order to consider the design factor change, it was necessary to understand the purpose of the factor in all aspects of the Standard and just as importantly to involve the whole industry in the analysis and decision making process. To do this, the committee developed an ‘issue’ paper for each aspect of the Standard where a change in design factor (or pipeline stress level) could impact the safety and integrity of the pipeline. As these ‘issue’ papers were developed and approved they were published on the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) website, the industry was invited to debate and comment on the Committee’s analysis and recommendation.

The Standard incorporates findings from research programs undertaken by APIA’s Research and Standards Committee to address specific areas identified in the issue papers as requiring additional research. Furthermore, APIA’s Research and Standards Committee engaged qualified international experts to advise on incorporating the latest international research and experience into specific areas.

In December 2004, a public comment draft of the revised Standard was released at a two-day international seminar convened in Wollongong to present the draft Standard and to inform the Australian Industry on international experience with higher design factors and with increasing the maximum allowable operating pressure of existing pipelines.

The proceedings of this seminar still provide an excellent reference for people with concerns about the suitability of the higher design factor and on the methods by which the maximum allowable operating pressure of existing pipelines can be safely increased.

The extended period between the public comment draft and the published Standard was occupied by extensive committee debate on the public comment and on the Safety and MAOP Upgrade sections. The end result of this work is an advanced Standard that provides the industry with rules and methods for the design and construction of safe and cost effective pipelines.

The 2007 revision extends the philosophy used in the earlier revisions of AS 2885.1 that it provides minimum rules and design guidance rather than a ‘cookbook’. This places a very significant obligation on the designer and on the Pipeline Licensee for the safe design and construction of the pipeline, requiring its use by competent persons. It is essential that users of the Standard appreciate this philosophy.

This revision provides a basis for industry to benefit through the application of an increased factor for pressure design (for new pipelines) and a structured basis for increasing the MAOP of a qualifying existing pipeline. These benefits are supported by robust requirements for safety, structural design, construction, testing and record keeping.

Significant changes in this revision include:

* A restructure of the sections of the document to separate pipeline general, pipeline, stations, and instrumentation and control; * The incorporation of a section defining the minimum requirements for a pipeline whose maximum allowable operating pressure is proposed to be raised; * A revision of the Safety Section to reflect a change from its purpose being Risk Assessment to it being Safety Management. The revised Standard requires the design to be validated through a Safety Management Study. Where this study identifies a risk, assessment of the risk is now required to be undertaken by a process that complies with AS 4360 (Risk Assessment). This revision provides more explicit guidance on the obligation to undertake safety assessments with the integrity required for compliance with this Standard. Much of the informative information that was written into a handbook HB105 developed for the 1997 revision of the Standard has been transferred into appendices in the 2007 Standard, and HB105 will be withdrawn from publication; and, * The Materials and Components section is revised to require the specified minimum yield stress of pipe designed for operation at temperatures of 65°C and higher to be derated. The revised Standard also permits use of fibreglass and corrosion resistant alloy pipe materials and requires a minimum toughness requirement for pipe DN 100 and larger transporting gas and HVPL fluids.

The Standard introduces:

* A mandatory requirement for the design of a pipeline for the existing and intended land use; * A revision of the requirements for effective pipeline marking including a change to require the marker sign to comply with a ‘danger sign’ in accordance with AS 1319, Safety signs for the occupational environment; * A requirement for a plan for isolation of a pipeline; * Special requirements for pipelines constructed in locations where the consequence of failure by rupture is not acceptable (high consequence areas). The Standard requires that existing pipelines comply with the requirements of the 2007 revision where the location classification has changed to residential (or equal). Methods by which an existing pipeline or its protection may be qualified as complying with the objectives of this special provision are provided; * Calculation methods for critical defect length, energy release rate and radiation contour; * Substantial revision to the requirements for fracture control; * A maximum design factor of 0.80 for the calculation of the minimum wall thickness of a pipe for pressure containment, and a design factor of 0.67 for pipeline assemblies; * A requirement that the thickness of a pipe in any location is selected on the basis of it being sufficient to resist the identified load at that location; * A calculation method for determining resistance to penetration by an excavator is provided; * Requirements for stress and strain have been completely redrafted to clarify the requirements. The limits for each stress condition are tabulated and normative and informative appendices are provided incorporating the relevant equations. Reliability and limit state design methods are permitted for pipeline design and integrity analysis, using approved methods; * A ‘prequalified’ design for short pipes with a diameter of DN 200 and smaller is introduced for situations where the MAOP of 10.2 MPa or less; * The provisions for reduced cover for a pipeline constructed through ‘rock’ have been revised; * The method for calculating reinforcement of branch connections; * Section 9 (Upgrade of MAOP) sets down the minimum process, including activities required, to demonstrate the fitness of a pipeline designed and operated at one pressure as suitable for approval for operation at a higher pressure. The Section establishes a structured methodology for demonstrating the pipeline fitness and, once approved, for commissioning the pipeline at the new pressure. The maximum pressure is limited to the hydrostatic strength test pressure divided by the equivalent test pressure factor; * Revisions to Inspection and Testing requirements to align them with the requirements of AS 2885.5, and to reflect the special requirements for pipelines designed with a pressure design factor of 0.80; and, * New and revised appendices both informative and normative to provide additional background and understanding of the purpose, methodology and requirements of the revised Standard.

In addition to the items identified above, there are a great many changes of lesser significance incorporated in the document to the extent that users should consider it as a familiar but new Standard.

APIA has sponsored a series of seminars in major capital cities to present the revised Standard to industry, and to inform users of the basis of the Standard and its requirements. The end result of this process is a thoroughly modern standard for the design and construction of high pressure gas and liquid petroleum pipelines that addresses the requirements of the public and the transmission pipeline for the foreseeable future.