3 Pipeline Planning Workflows Streamlined by Location Intelligence

Download our new guide, Using Location Intelligence for Efficient Oil & Gas Midstream Operations, to learn how to begin making confident, data-backed decisions in pipeline planning and management.

Routing pipelines can be a massive right-of-way project. Project planners must be aware of land use information, land values, hazards, environmental data, existing infrastructure, and any existing regulations that prohibit pipeline construction in certain areas.

Managing the land assets associated with pipeline planning becomes a headache when the necessary data exists in multiple tools and spreadsheets across various departments. A strong location intelligence platform can help streamline the planning and preconstruction process by allowing project planners to marry disparate datasets and visualize them on a map.

Here are three pipeline planning workflows made easier by location intelligence:

Right-of-Way Management

Location intelligence platforms allow project managers to fully understand surface ownership. Project managers can easily visualize a planned route and the parcels or strips of land for which they will need to negotiate or maintain leases.

With location intelligence, project managers can identify the landowner and transaction history for a property. They can also analyze estimated market value and any outside factors (such as demographics and crime rates) that may impact property value. Depending on the location intelligence platform that they are utilizing, they may even be able to identify assemblages of land owned by the same entity to further simplify negotiations.

Early Appraisal

When appraisal specialists need to validate information, a location intelligence platform simplifies the data-gathering process. Because they can access the same powerful, map-based data visualizations that their project management team is using to plan the pipeline route, appraisal specialists can evaluate transaction histories and nearby comparables to determine a fair offer for leasing land.

Pipeline Station Placement

Project managers can review spatial data remotely to determine optimal locations for pipeline stations without having to make an initial site visit. Location intelligence makes it easy to find land to accommodate:

• Initial injection stations: Use spatial data to find land best suited for storage facilities, pumps and compressors
• Compressor stations: Import topography data to locate parcels of land where compressor stations will be most effective
• Partial delivery stations: Pinpoint locations with easy access to roads and rail for the effective delivery of product along the pipeline route
• Block valve stations: Minimize potential harm to the environment and nearby populations by using location intelligence to optimally place these stations
• Regulator stations: Discover locations along your pipeline route that will be easily accessible to the operators handling regulator station operations
• Final delivery stations: Identify the major population centers where it would be ideal to distribute product to consumers

Learn More

Download our guide to learn more about how location intelligence facilitates pipeline planning. For additional information on LandVision, our cloud-based location intelligence application, click here to talk to a rep.