|
About
PRCI
Vision
"To be the preeminent collaborative technology development
organization of, by, and for the energy pipeline industry."
PRCI Description
Membership and Administration
Membership Subscription
Coordination Activities
Funding
PRCI Structure & Organization
Technical Committees
Technical Program Planning
Intellectual Property
New Member's Checklist
Access to the PRCI Members' Area Website
PRCI Members
Conclusions
PRCI
DESCRIPTION
Mission:
"To conduct a collaboratively-funded technology
development program that enables energy pipeline companies
around the world to provide safe, reliable, environmentally
compatible, and cost-effective service to meet customer
energy requirements."
Pipeline
Research Council International, Inc. (PRCI) is a tax-exempt,
not-for-profit corporation comprised of energy pipeline
companies. PRCI was first organized in 1952, as the Pipeline
Research Committee, (click
here to view photo of founders), by 15 natural gas transmission
pipeline companies to address the problem of long-running
brittle fractures in natural gas transmission pipelines.
In solving that problem within two years, the Committee
demonstrated the benefit of industry collaboration and the
leveraging of voluntary industry funding. Although originally
focused on technology development for the gas transmission
pipeline industry across the research spectrum from basic
to applied, over the years PRCI has increasingly focused
on near-term integrity and reliability solutions to design
and operating problems and realizing the opportunities that
an industry-managed program generates. As the focus of the
work has evolved and broadened so too has PRCI's membership
with an increasing focus on oil and petroleum products pipelines.
As a result, PRCI is now a critical resource for all 'energy
pipelines'.
back
to top
MEMBERSHIP
AND ADMINISTRATION
Membership is open to natural
gas transmission companies, and other companies with operating
pipeline systems and having an interest in pipeline technology
including crude oil and petroleum products pipelines. The
current membership includes companies operating in the United
States, Canada, South America, Europe and Saudi Arabia.
Each member company, regardless of its individual subscription
level, is represented on PRCI's Board of Directors and may
make such further assignments to PRCI's technical supervisory
committees as reflective of its interests. The Board elects
a chairman from among its membership for a two-year term.
PRCI's current Chairman is Winston Johnson II, of El Paso
Energy Pipelines Group. PRCI provides a small professional
staff for contract and program administration, meeting planning,
and project management.
back
to top
MEMBERSHIP
SUBSCRIPTION
PRCI's revenues are primarily
derived from individual member subscriptions calculated
annually based on reported "qualifying" pipeline
mileage. Qualifying mileage is defined as welded steel pipe
that is 6-inches or larger in diameter and having a maximum
allowable operating pressure of 500 psi or greater; or,
in the case of crude oil and petroleum product pipelines,
operating at 20% or greater of the pipe's specified minimum
yield strength.
-
Full voting membership in PRCI is open to companies operating
natural gas transmission and crude oil and petroleum products
pipelines (or, "liquid pipelines")
- The
Association of Oil Pipelines holds a 'Pipeline Industry
Organization' membership that provides AOPL with a seat
on the Board to represent all of its members not otherwise
a member of PRCI.
- All
members joining after 2000, must commit to a 3-year membership,
for which they get immediate access to all PRCI technology
developed over its 50 years. The following is the fee
structure for these companies in fulfillment of their
3-year commitment
Year
|
Base
Assessment |
Fee/Mile
of Qualifying Pipe |
| 2004 |
$93,831 |
$3.58 |
| 2005 |
$101,713 |
$7.15 |
| 2006 |
$101,713* |
$7.75* |
| *
Or, as otherwise determined by the Board prior to 2006 |
The annual budget, which determines
the sum to be raised through subscription, is developed
by the PRCI membership and approved by a majority vote of
the Board. In addition, a number of cooperative projects
have been developed that bring in outside funding in return
for participation in the management of projects in the technical
committees and the deliverables generated. There are currently
six technical committees comprised of industry technical
representatives from member companies who carry out the
PRCI program (see below). Additional funding is obtained
from member companies, non-member companies, and government
agencies for projects of special interest to those contributors.
back
to top
COORDINATION
ACTIVITIES
In order to increase the scope
of its research program, leverage its available subscription
resources, and share knowledge, PRCI has developed relationships
with the following organizations and groups having complementary
interests:
- The
Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA)
- The
INGAA Foundation
- NYSEARCH/Northeast
Gas Association
- The
American Petroleum Institute
- The
American Gas Association
- The
Southern Gas Association
- European Pipeline Research
Group (EPRG)
- Australian Pipeline Industry
Association (APIA)
back
to top
FUNDING
Member
Subscription
The
majority of funding for PRCI's technology program comes
from the pipeline industry through the voluntary annual
contributions of member companies and the pipeline portion
of GTI's research and development program funded under a
surcharge mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
and collected by interstate gas transmission pipeline companies.
In 2004, these combined funding sources will invest more
than $12.0MM in the ongoing energy pipeline technology development
program. With this level of funding, the technology program
will attract nearly $8.0MM in co-funding, thereby generating
a total 2004 technology program of $20.0MM.
Co-funding
Funding
for the PRCI technology development program is augmented
by the co-funding of member companies, non-member energy
pipeline companies, technology development firms, and government
agencies and instrumentalities. Co-funding allows non-members
to participate in the selection, management, and benefits
of PRCI's technology development.
Marketing
PRCI Technology
PRCI
makes much of the intellectual property it has developed
over its 50-year history available for purchase by non-members.
PRCI technology products and reports are available from
a widely diverse catalogue by contacting our strategic partner,
Technical Toolboxes, Inc., or from the PRCI website, www.prci.com.
back
to top
PRCI
STRUCTURE & ORGANIZATION
Board of Directors
PRCI
is governed by a Board of Directors, comprised of one voting
member from each member pipeline company, the Association
of Oil Pipelines, and the Gas Technology Institute (GTI).
The Board of Directors meets two times each year, in early
Spring and in conjunction with PRCI's corporate Annual Meeting
in midsummer. The 9-member Executive Committee of the Board
develops policy and program recommendations for the Board
and exercises executive decision-making for the Board in
specific areas of delegation.
- Board
of Directors comprised of a voting representative from
each member company, following a policy of "one member-one
vote".
- Members
may also designate non-voting Board representatives who
may participate in all Board discussions and may serve
on Board-level committees and ad hoc groups.
- The
Board meets twice a year to review program progress and
provide guidance on program selection for the following
year (April), and provides final technical program approval
(August).
Executive
Committee
- From
the 35-member Board of Directors nine members are drawn
to form the Executive Committee, which is the primary
"steering committee" of the corporation
- The
Executive Committee meets in conjunction with the Board
meetings, and on its own each November
- In
addition, the Executive Committee meets with the Technical
Committee chairs in mid-February and early July to provide
executive guidance on the development of the technical
programs being developed by the Technical Committees
- The
composition of the Executive Committee is: the Chairman
and Vice Chairman; five members of the Board elected by
the Board; two members of the Board appointed by the Chairman.
Back
to top
Technical
Committees
- The
Technical Committees meet three times each year, usually
for 2 - 3 days, in January/February, April/May, and August/September.
- At
each Technical Committee meeting the Committees invite
some of their contractors to attend and provide status
updates on their work when: 1) there is an issue the Committees
need to decide in order for the work to go forward; 2)
an important result has been achieved; 3) a unique problem
has been encountered; or, 4) a final draft report is ready
for distribution within the Committee for comment and/or
approval. In addition, contractors post periodic status
reports on the Technical Committees' pages on the PRCI
website.
- Assigning
technical representatives to the Technical Committees
is the responsibility of each member company. Each PRCI
member is entitled one vote in each Technical Committee
in which it participates. However, all member companies
are encouraged to send as many technical representatives
as they wish to all technical meetings.
- Under
PRCI by-laws, the chair of each Technical Committee is
appointed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of
PRCI. These appointments usually are based on recommendations
from member companies.
- Each
Technical Committee assigns, based first upon the request
of interested technical representatives, members of the
Committee to head either specific programs or "emphasis
areas" (e.g., in Corrosion and Inspection, there are separate
emphasis areas for external and internal corrosion). The
heads of these programs or emphasis areas are usually
called "ad hoc chairs" or "program managers", and they
are selected upon request by a technical representative
wishing the assignment or, failing that, by the chair
of the Technical Committee.
Back
to top
SIX
TECHNICAL COMMITTEES:
The technology
development work of PRCI - planning, execution, and management
- is done by its six Technical Committees, comprised of technical
representatives assigned by the member companies:
Materials
[2004 Funding: $3.0MM]
- Integrity
Assessment and Management of In-service Damage
- New
Materials, Improved Welding Processes, and Improved Defect
Detection
- Improved
Maintenance Welding Techniques
- Refined
Materials Design
- Safe
Use of Early Generation Pipeline Research Council International
- Framework
for Pipeline Integrity and Risk Management
Design,
Construction and Operations [2004 Funding: $2.0MM]
- Procedures
and Applications for Periodic Integrity Assessment
- Methodologies
for Prevention and Detection of Mechanical Damage
- Characterizing
and Quantifying Loads and Load Effects on Onshore and Offshore
Pipelines
- Reliability-based
Design Methodology for New Onshore and Offshore Pipeline
Construction
back to top
Corrosion
& Inspection [2004 Funding: $3.7MM]
- NDT
Methods to Effectively Find and Characterize Existing Corrosion
- Improved
Methods for Mitigating Internal and External Corrosion
- Improved
ILI Tools to Find and Characterize Defects and Damage
- Improved
Methods to Find, Characterize, and Manage Environmental
Cracking (including stress corrosion cracking (SCC))
Compressor
& Pump Station [2004 Funding: $1.3MM]
- Increased
Response Time for Implementing Environmental Controls
- Increased
Reliability of Existing Engines in Reduction of NOx Emissions
without Retrofitting
Measurement
[2004 Funding: $1.0MM]
- Product
Sampling Techniques to Reduce Impurities and Consequent
System Damage
- New
Metering Technology to Enhance Reliability and Deliverability
Underground
Storage [2004 Funding: $1.0MM]
- Improved
Criteria for Well Casing Repair
- Enhanced
Deliverability and Facility Re-engineering
back
to top
TECHNICAL
PROGRAM PLANNING
- At
the February meeting of the Executive Committee and the
Technical Committee chairs, the chairs describe potential
programs for the next program year, and receive guidance
from the Executive Committee on developing the programs
for the Board at its April meeting.
- At
the April meeting of the Executive Committee (held the day
prior to the Board meeting), the Technical Committee chairs
present a full set of proposed programs for the Board's
consideration. The Executive Committee makes a recommendation
for the Board on proposed target budget levels, and based
on the recommendation, the Board approves an "order
of magnitude" prioritization and proposed target budgets
to guide the Technical Committees in the further refinement
of their program proposals.
- In
early July, the Executive Committee Planning Subcommittee
meets with the Technical Committee chairs to review the
refinement of the programs following the April Board meeting,
and develops a recommended technology budget for the Board's
adoption at its August meeting.
- Upon
a presentation by the Technical Committees at the August
Board meeting, the Board does a final vote to approve the
technical programs, by Technical Committee, for the upcoming
year.
- All
contracts are executed following the final round of Technical
Committee meetings in mid-August to mid-September, with
the goal of the work beginning on or before January 1 of
the program year.
Back
to top
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
- Upon
becoming a member of PRCI and executing a Membership Subscription
Agreement with a three-year commitment, the new member has
immediate access to all the technology reports and software
developed by PRCI since its inception.
- In
PRCI parlance, a report is "published" when the
Board determines that it can be disseminated outside the
membership of PRCI. Upon approval of a report by the Board,
each member company is provided two hard copy versions of
the report, and may obtain more by request and payment of
a small shipping charge.
- If
the Board approves a technical report for "publication",
it is assigned a catalogue number and its availability is
posted on the PRCI website, along with direction on how
to purchase the report from Technical Toolboxes, Inc., PRCI's
strategic partner for marketing and distribution of PRCI's
intellectual property (IP).
- The
new member is referred to the Subscription Agreement provided
in Attachment B for rights and obligations regarding the
access to, and use of, PRCI IP.
- A member
company may load any PRCI IP - paper reports and software
- in its company database(s), but in accordance with the
rights and obligations set forth in the Subscription Agreement,
the information may only be applied on the mileage and related
facilities declared by the member in the Subscription Agreement.
- With
respect to software, the member receives two copies of the
software for installation on two computers, but the member
may also download the software for broad distribution for
use on the mileage and facilities that comprise its membership
per the Subscription Agreement. Additional copies of the
software for installation on specific computers are available
for the cost of shipping.
- All
representatives of the member company who would use
the
technology on the mileage and related facilities are declared
by the member company in the Subscription Agreement.
- There
is no limitation on the number of paper copies that can
be made; the limitation runs to the facilities on which
the information in the report can be used.
Back
to top
NEW
MEMBER'S CHECKLIST
Pipeline
companies wishing to join PRCI should provide the following
information to Administrative Assistant, Natalie M. Zawada,
via email, at nzawada@prci.org
, or by mail at 1401 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100, Arlington,
VA 22209.
- Completed
2004 Subscription Agreement. Note: It is imperative that
you provide the name, address, phone number, fax number,
email address (you may also include your assistant's contact
information if you wish) of the individual that will be
representing your company on the PRCI Board of Directors.
- A list
of any subsidiaries who operate the qualifying mileage declared
in the mileage portion in the 2004 Subscription Agreement.
- The
Member Company's main address and phone number (if different
than the address of the Board member identified in the Agreement),
which may be used in future marketing materials such as
the PRCI Pipeline Integrity Service Sourcebook.
- For
each of the Technical Committees in which your company plans
to participate, the name and contact information of the
individual who will be your "voting" member for
that committee. Note, an alternate member may also be selected
for each committee.
- Contact
information of individual to whom the subscription invoice
should be sent and who would be available for any billing
questions.
- Electronic
version (JPEG or TIFF) of the company logo for use on the
PRCI website. The Logo will be posted at the following address:
http://www.prci.org/member_list.cfm (If your company prefers
NOT to be listed, please let Mary know.)
- Your
company's website URL address. This information will be
linked to your Logo (see #6 above).
back
to top
ACCESS
TO THE PRCI MEMBERS' AREA WEBSITE
Access
to the PRCI "Members Area" may be accomplished as
follows:
On or
after January 1st, 2003 (as your Subscription to PRCI starts
January 1, 2003) go to http://www.prci.org/members_area/index.cfm,
select "Sign Up Today" and complete the required
information. Note: This should be completed by EACH individual
from your company, who is authorized to access the PRCI Member's
Documentation, per the terms of the 2003 Subscription Agreement.
For assistance, contact either Administrative Assistant at 703/387-0190
(nzawada@prci.org)
or Webmaster at 403/250-2700 webmaster@prci.org).
MEMBER
COMPANIES
|
Alliance Pipeline Limited
Association of Oil Pipe Lines
Boardwalk Pipelines
BP
Buckeye Partners, L.P.
CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission Company
Chevron Pipe Line Company
Colonial Pipeline Company
Colorado Interstate Gas
Columbia Gas Transmission Corp.
Conoco Phillips
Dominion Resources, Inc.
El Paso Natural Gas
Enbridge Pipelines & Enbridge Energy Partners
EPCO, Inc.
Explorer Pipeline Company
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Gassco A.S.
Gasum Oy
Gaz de France
Marathon Pipe Line LLC
N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie
National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation
National Grid
ONEOK Partners
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Panhandle Energy
Petrobras
Saudi Aramco
Shell Pipeline Company LP
Southern California Gas Company, a Sempra Energy utility
Southern Natural Gas
Spectra Energy Transmission, LLC
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company
TOTAL S.A.
TransCanada PipeLines Limited
TransGas Limited
Transwestern Pipeline Company
Williams Companies, Inc.
|
back
to top
Conclusions
By joining their common interests
in technology development and application, PRCI members
are able to focus considerable expertise and experience
on significant technology needs common to all participants.
PRCI focuses on reliability and integrity, with a special
emphasis on safety and environmental performance. In addition,
with both policy and funding responsibilities vested in
a single governing Board of Directors, PRCI is able to react
to short-term needs while maintaining the proprietary nature
of its ongoing activities. Periodic assessments by individual
member companies of the return on their PRCI investment,
relative to their subscription obligation, have consistently
produced ratios in excess of 5 to 1. For the past 50 years,
PRCI's success has been attributable to its adherence to
three principal commitments:
- To foster role of the Board
of Directors and the technical representatives in the
development of priorities and the management of the overall
technology program;
- To establish a fiscally
and technically sound position for PRCI in the industry's
technology development spectrum; and,
- To expand the membership
base and broaden PRCI's technical perspectives.
Back
to top
Please contact us to learn more
about PRCI, Including how to become a member of the premier
technology development organization 'of, by, and for the energy
pipeline industry'.
For complete
contact details, click here.
For the latest
PRCI news, click here.
|
