Safety Measures of the Oil Pipeline Transportation Business

Abstract

Due to the expansion of an oil pipeline system to the Northern and Northeastern of Thailand, the method of oil transportation through pipelines will be more increasing. Therefore, it is essential that we need to be aware of and prioritize the safety control of the pipeline transportation before the damage occurred. The measures which related to the safety of the oil pipeline transportation are mainly controlled by licensing under the Fuels Control Act, B.E. 2542 and the Fuels Control Act (No. 2), B.E. 2550. The licensee has to carry out the operation safely in compliance with Section 7 of the Fuels Control Act which authorizes the Minister of Energy to issue the ministerial regulations to determine the criteria, methods and technical details for the safety purpose of oil pipeline transportation. However, at present, there are neither ministerial regulations that indicate the engineering standards on the oil pipeline transportation system nor the qualification of the tester and inspector. Moreover, the Fuels Control Act B.E 2542 and the amendment do not require the applicants or operators to demonstrate the economic feasibility and present the financial information. The article will analyze the current safety measures of the oil pipeline transportation and proposes recommendations by comparing with the Law of Canada which is the National Energy Board Act and the Law of Thailand which is the Energy Industry Act, B.E. 2550.