Proceedings of the ASME 2013 International Pipeline Geotechnical Conference
IPG2013
THE CHALLENGE OF CROSSING THE ANDES, A DATA BASE ANALYSIS AND
PERU LNG PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Ariel Gasca Cardenas
HUNT OIL COMPANY
Dallas, TX USA
ABSTRACT
As of the date this paper is written pipelines in South
America comprises 113000 kms of transmission lines including
Oil, Gas, Condensates, and refined products from which
approximately 17% (19400 kms) crosses the Andes reaching
elevations up to near 5000mts. Rugged terrain combined with
the geology, weather conditions (especially rain intensity) and
continuous pipe ruptures in the past impose serious challenges
for the pipeline industry that makes the design, construction and
operation substantially different from other pipelines in the
world. The records have shown that the threat of Ground
movement/weather-related pipeline ruptures in the Andes plays
a significant role since the percentage of the risk associated with
geotechnical causes is substantially higher than any other parts
such as Europe or United States. Thus the rate of pipeline
failures due to natural forces is significant higher than the
average industry. Peru LNG is a 406km x 34in gas pipeline
transporting natural gas from the jungle side of Peru to the
Pacific Coast where a LNG terminal has been installed. Peru
LNG´s pipeline currently holds the record of being the highest
Gas Pipeline of the world with a maximum elevation of 4901
meters above sea level. Project completion was done in May
2010 and lessons learnt from similar projects were taken into
account since project designs. This paper is divided in two
parts. First, it compares pipeline ruptures frequencies due to
natural forces in the Andes with other pipelines in different
terrains based on historical cases compiled by the authors.
Secondly, it explains the different phases of Pipeline Project in
rugged terrain from the conceptual design until the operations
stage and the role of Pipeline Geotechnical Engineers in this
process based on PERU LNG‟s pipeline experience. It also
describes some of the main features of the PLNG pipeline
1 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
July 24-26, 2013, Bogota, Colombia
IPG2013-1951
Edilberto Gutierrez
COLP SAC
Lima, Perú
project. A comprehensive flow chart provides general guidance
for future pipeline projects in similar conditions.
BACKGROUND
According to the CIA1 (2009), there are about 2 million
kilometers of pipelines installed throughout the world, 41% of
which (793,000 km) are located in the United States, the
country with the world‟s greatest length of hydrocarbon
transmission lines. South America represents 5.8% of the total
length; in other words, 112,700 km approximately, about
18,900 km of which go through the Andes Mountains, which is
about 1% of the world‟s overall total (including some pipelines
that are still being designed or built).
Figure 1 indicates the main pipelines that cross the Andes.
Trasandino oil pipeline is the oldest transportation system going
through the Andes, it was built in 1969 in southern Colombia
near the border with Ecuador aiming to transport the crude oil
found in the jungle region of both countries to the port of
Tumaco, located in the Colombian Pacific. It is worth
mentioning that this oil pipeline is still operating and it has
suffered around 10 ruptures up to now as a result of natural
forces.
Alto it is important to mention the earthquakes that occurred
after a heavy rain period in Ecuador on March 5, 1987, as they
generated landslides and avalanches that destroyed 70 km of
pipelines of the 498 km long Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System
(SOTE, by its Spanish initials), turning this event into the
greatest failure of one single pipeline in history. In that time,
60% of the country‟s profit came from the export of crude oil,
which was interrupted for approximately 6 months while the
repair works were being finished (Hall Minard L, 1991).
Figure N°1. Main pipelines across the Andes
(Gasca A. 2012)
Although the length installed is very small compared with the
total global length, due to the physiographic characteristics of
the Andes, the analysis of the experiences in the region are of
particular interest for the specialists. It is publicly known that
the conditions of the design, construction and operation of the
pipelines in this part of the world are quite particular and
require specific analysis. Particular reference needs to be made
to the combined effect of high precipitations and extreme
geotechnical conditions, which have led to a high number of
ruptures as a result of ground movement and with a proportion
of failures per year that is significantly higher than other
pipelines in the world.
2 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Figure N°2. Comparison of rupture causes in
Pipelines for different regions (Gasca A. 2012)
To illustrate the above, we need to underline that, in general,
there are 6 causes that can generate ruptures or leakages in
operating pipelines, which are the following: corrosion,
incorrect operations, damage by third parties, defective
construction or defective materials, natural (or geotechnical)
forces and „‟other causes‟‟. Entities such as the United States
Department of Transport and the CONCAWE2 and EGIG3 in
Europe have systematically collected all cases of ruptures and
their respective causes and they found that the main source of
ruptures were due to third parties and failing material or
equipment. Ruptures as a result of natural or geotechnical
forces only represented between 3% and 9% of the total.
This percentage distribution varies significantly when
submitting the information available for the pipelines going
across the Andes, to a similar calculation, which shows that the
ruptures resulting from natural or geotechnical forces represent
about 45% of the total, being at least 5 times more than the
percentage reported in Europe (See Figure 2). Failures due to
vandalism or terrorism were not considered part of the data base
for the analysis.
The pipeline ruptures in the Andes and even in South
America are not duly registered in an entity that groups the
different operators in the area; however, there is a large amount
of information available that allows for making an estimate with
an adequate degree of certainty. Figure 2 summarizes the
distribution of causes of ruptures in oil pipelines in different
regions and compares them with the Andes case. For the
particular Peruvian case, the work of Suárez Luis (2008), which
was prepared for an oil pipeline in northern Peru and started
operating in 1977, has been taken as a reference, as well as the
Figure N°3. Pipeline ruptures due to natural forces in the Andes (Gasca A. 2012)

3 Copyright © 2013 by ASME

information available on the TGP liquid pipeline which started
operating in 2004. This trend is also shown by other authors
such as Porter M., 2006.

ANALYSIS OF RUPTURES RESULTING FROM

GEOTECHNICAL CAUSES
Figure 3 summarizes all ruptures caused by natural forces
found by the authors in pipelines going across the Andes. The
information was extracted from articles, public records and web
publications. No ruptures are reported in the lower half of the
Andes where rain conditions are not severe. Most ruptures are
located on the eastern edge of the mountain range, in high
precipitation areas (more than 2000 mm per year).

Rupture frequencies in hydrocarbon transmission lines are

obtained based on the number of ruptures that occur per
pipeline length and per number of years of system operation.
Frequencies of less than 1 per 1000 km-year in general terms
(all causes) are frequently found for pipelines in the United
States or Europe, as shown in Figure 4. With regard to the
Andes, rupture frequencies are higher in all of the registered
periods. These values need to be converted into referential
values for the risk analysis developed by the Operators,
especially when probabilistic approaches are used.
For the specific case of the rupture frequencies as a result
of geotechnical factors (i.e. landslides, avalanches, falling
rocks, etc.) the difference between the registered values in the
Andes is significantly higher than in Europe as is shown in
Figure 5.
A gradually descending trend can be seen in the percentage
of ruptures in pipelines which have been operating for a larger
number of years and once the integrity programs have started
working; however, when new pipelines with deficient design
input or in case there is not sufficient knowledge of the
geotechnical conditions of some particular places, the
percentage of ruptures tends to increase momentarily as is
shown by the peaks of the curves indicated in the graph.
Figure N°4. Oil Pipelines Rupture Frequencies in different
regions (Gasca A. 2012)
Figure N°5. Rupture Frequencies due to Geotechnical Factors
(Gasca A. 2012)
THE PERU LNG GAS PIPELINE
Peru LNG is a natural gas transport and processing project
which required the installation of 408 km and 34 inch diameter
gas pipeline going across the Peruvian Andes in order to deliver
natural gas to a Liquefaction Plant located on the Pacific Coast,
at 160 km south from Lima. Said construction involved the
following relevant aspects:
 64% (261 km) of the route had an elevation higher
than 3000 masl;
 41.8 % (171 km) of the route had an elevation higher
than 4000 masl;
 The maximum elevation (Guiness record) was 4900.5
masl (KP160.784);
 379 river and ravine crossings, 143 road crossings and
22 crossings with other pipelines;
 50 swamp crossings with a total length of 5,100 m;
 25.3 km of potential landslide areas and 13 km of sand
dunes;
 120 sections with steep ground (more than 25 degrees
of inclination) requiring special construction
techniques;
 14,000 erosion control works installed along the
corridor in the mountainous section (especially along
the first 304 km);
 1.2 million cubic meters of ditch fill material obtained
by processing the existing subsoil or imported subsoil
from nearby quarries;
 1370 Ha of ground negotiated for an average of 33.6
wide Right of Way intervened during construction;
 Nearly 4000 crossed plots;

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  The project also included the commissioning of 408
and 61 km of Fiber Optic Cable (FOC) for
communications and geotechnical monitoring
respectively. The FOC for geotechnical monitoring
was installed at the far eastern end of the route where
the rains are more intense;
 600,000 tons of excavated rock (blasting);
Perú LNG started operations in May 2010 and since then,
no leakages have been registered that can jeopardize the
integrity of its pipeline. Although this is about a relatively short
period, special importance also has been given to the
geotechnical issues based on the experience of other pipelines
crossing the same mountain range and which have reported
failures shortly after the start of their operations.
Figure 6 shows the development of the different
engineering, construction and operational phases of the pipeline
and the particular way in which the geotechnical aspect was
handled in each stage. The diagram may apply to any other
project in similar conditions.
CONCLUSIONS
Although the percentage they represent is small in comparison
with the total global length, the pipelines installed across the
Andes impose particular challenges and offer different statistics
for those who take part in the design, construction and operation
process. Therefore, risk analyses should be carried out based on
the particular results of the existing pipelines in this part of the
world, apart from the use of bibliographic references of other
areas with different physiographic conditions.
The Peru LNG gas pipeline has received feedback from the
experiences of other pipelines developed in similar conditions
and has established a unique application model of Geotechnical
Engineering for the different phases of the project, from the
conceptual design up to the operation of the transportation
system itself.
The different pipeline operators in South America are to be
brought together in order to centralize the information on causes
of spills or leakages in order to centralize such information for
future analysis as is done in other parts of the world. Making a
special distinction for hydrocarbon transport systems involving
crossing a mountain range like the Andes, would be even better.
Having a better knowledge of the history and difficulties will
make it possible to anticipate and foresee difficulties in new
projects.
NOMENCLATURE
1. CIA: Central Intelligent Agency. United States of
America.
5 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
2. COCAWE: Conservation of Clean Air, Water and
Environment in Europe.
3. EGIG: European Gas pipeline Incident data Group.
4. SOTE: Sistema de Oleoducto Trans-Ecuatoriano
5. TGP: Transportadora de gas del Perú
6. FOC: Fiber Optic Cable
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank Christian Silva (COLP‟s Engineer)
for his help collecting information as well as the support
provided by Igor Salazar, General Manager of Peru LNG and
Barbara Bruce, General Manager of Huntoil Peru.
REFERENCIAS
 Central Intelligent Agency (CIA). The World Factbook
2010.
 CONCAWE Oil Pipelines management Group´s Special
Task Force on pipeline spillages. Performance of European
cross-country oil pipelines. Statistical summary of reported
spillages in 2010 and since 1971. Dec. 2011.
 European Gas Pipeline Incident Data Group (EGIG) 7th
Report 1970-2007. Dec 2008.
 Falabella D. et al. Innovación tecnológica y causa de fallas
en gasoductos. Petrotecnia. Argentina. Agosto 2008.
 Hall Minard L. Los Terremotos del Ecuador del 5 de
Marzo de 1987. Deslizamientos y sus efectos Socio-
económicos. Colección Estudios de Geografía. Vol 9.
Escuela Politécnica Nacional. Publicación original en
inglés con el título: “The March 5, 1987 Ecuador
Earthquakes – Mass Wasting and Socioeconomic Effects”.
The National Academy Press, Washington D.C. 1991.
 Porter M. et al. Andean pipelines – a challenge for natural
hazard and risk managers. BGC Engineering.
 Suárez C. Luis. Oleoducto Norperuano. Operaciones
Oleoducto PETROPERU S.A. Presentación en Power
Point.
 Sweeney M. et al. Pipelines in Rugged Terrain: A database,
historic risks and pipeline vulnerability. Terrain and
Geohazard Challenges facing onshore oil and gas pipelines.
London, U.K. 2004.
 U.S. Department of Transportation. Pipeline and
Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA). All
Pipeline Incidents by cause 1992-2011.
Figure N°6. Oil Pipeline Geotechnics in different stages of the Project. Andean Case. (Gasca A. 2012)

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