Technologies and cases of oil and gas pipeline abandonment

For oil and gas pipelines with profits lower than operation costs, or with no other potential usages, or that are too old to ensure production safety, abandonment shall be considered as an inevitable choice. Abandonment of pipelines is a complex systematic project, which requires detailed preparations and thorough designs to reduce costs and minimize negative environmental impacts. With consideration to key sectors in abandonment of pipelines, this paper reviews domestic and overseas cases involving abandonment to highlight operations related to removal of residual materials within such pipelines, dismantling of pipelines and relevant attachments, filling of crossover sections, diversion effects of pipelines abandoned in-situ, follow-up and maintenance of such pipelines after abandonment. This restudy may provide necessary guidance for scientific and proper disposal of abandoned oil and gas pipelines.