Accident survey of Natech events on oil and gas transmission pipelines in Colombia

In mountainous regions worldwide, particularly in tropical areas affected by heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides may occur frequently, sometimes impacting industrial infrastructure including oil and gas transmission pipelines. When this happens, hazardous materials releases may occur with impacts to the environment and neighboring communities. These, natural hazard-triggered technological accidents with the consequent release of hazardous materials are known as Natechs. This study aims investigate the incidence of Natech accidents related with oil and gas pipelines through a survey of chemical accident reports in Colombia to determine the type of infrastructure most frequently affected, and the consequences of the Natech accidents in the territory. Data for the study was obtained from the National Agency for Environmental Licenses in Colombia. Following data aggregation and cleaning, a non-exhaustive keyword-based search was carried out to identify Natech accident reports. The Natech accident data collected was complemented by surveying publicly available information sources, such as news, industry, and government reports to consolidate a Natech database. The study results show 245 Natech events were reported between 2000 and 2022 of these 106 involved oil and gas pipelines (pipeline-Natechs). Pipeline-Natechs events have been more frequently reported in the last decade. Landslide was found to be the most common natural hazard causing damage to pipelines, followed by flooding. Some pipeline segments were involved in several Natech accidents, pointing to the importance of reviewing risk management measures in place. A detailed analysis based on complimentary sources point to a lack of dialogue among involved stakeholders, and problems regarding risk information and communication processes. This work also helped to identify direct and (often ignored) indirect impacts, providing some insights, could be useful for the industry and the government entities to implement risk reduction measures and improve risk management policies.