Proceedings of the ASME 2013 International Pipeline Geotechnical Conference

IPG2013
July 24-26, 2013, Bogota, Colombia

IPG2013-1907

NEOTECTONICS IN HYDROCARBON TRANSPORTATION LINES CORRIDORS –

THE NEED OF A DETAILED STUDY

1
José Vicente Amórtegui
Ingeniería y Geotecnia Ltda.
Bogotá D.C, Colombia

ABSTRACT National Geodesic Network, Taura and Mena, that are found
The Colombian pipeline network is exposed to the beside the Guaicaramo faults system, these spots were built in
permanent activity of geological processes that happen in the the early 50s and located with first order geodesic precision
country, due to the location of the country in the north-western procedures.
corner of the South American plate –where it is interrelated to
the Nazca and Caribbean plates–, the Andean zone is subject to 1 INTRODUCTION
compression strains that cause the uplifting of the mountain This paper presents the need for in-depth assessments in
ranges and with it their slopes, which eases the instability Colombia on neotectonic activity in order to improve the
processes. On the other hand, since the country is located in the knowledge of terrain behaviour so to include these aspects in
inter-tropic zone of the planet, where the rock deterioration pipelines design and also to consider necessary protection, as
processes are harsher, landslides are more frequent, this there is evidence of this activity that may have effects on the
together with the condition of strains, makes instability integrity of pipelines transporting hydrocarbon products.
something fairly common.
Evidence on pipelines for hydrocarbon transport is obtained 1.1 Glossary
from the fault activity, like this:
Tectonics: The speciality of geology that studies the
The Santiago - El Porvenir oil pipeline, that rises from the geological structures produced by deformation of the Earth's
plains to the mountain range, in December of 1991 a sudden
crust.
linear landslide of the pipe was evidenced in the Santiago field
Neotectonics: The study of geological processes and
(flat zone in the plains, south of Maní, Casanare), the position
structures that have propagated or reactivated within the
of the topographic control markers of the line was verified and a
currently active strain field.
terrain shortening of 22.5cm was found in the markers located
Activity: Traditionally it has been considered that a
both sides of the Yopal fault, for this reason the pipe had moved
geological structure is active when there is evidence of activity
from the area into the launching trap of Santiago, located 60km
during the Quaternary.
away from the trace of the fault.
Geological structure: The arrangement of the materials of
In the Medellín – Cartago pipeline, in the crossing above the
the Earth's crust, there are the original structures typical of
Cauca river, in the area of La Felisa, there is a 2.57m
rocks formation processes and structures deformed by the state
misalignment, in relation to the construction location, where the
of strains on existing geological formations that may be folds
towers were aligned with the direction of the pipe, around 25
and fractures, the latter are regarded by tectonics.
years ago. Nowadays the curve in the pipe suspended from the
bridge cables can be observed, which, given the length of the
2 BACKGROUND
bridge of around 200m doesn’t affect the mechanical conditions
In Colombia some Neotectonics assessments have been made
of the pipe. Along the Cauca river passes one of the geological
during the last 30 years as part of seismic microzonation studies
faults of the Romeral system. (figure 5).
for major cities and for some hydropower plants, mainly in
Due to the tracing of the initial pipes of the Cusiana Field, in
Antioquia area. Some research studies have been conducted by
the late 90s of the past century, a shortening of more than 2m of
Universities and Geological Research Institutions, such as
distance was detected between the geodesic spots of the

1
Civil Engineer from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia 1979, Project Manager at Ingeniería y Geotecnia Ltda. Professor at Escuela
Colombiana de Ingeniería and at Universidad Santo Tomás.

1 Copyright © 2013 by ASME

INGEOMINAS and Observatorio Sismológico de Occidente. Based on these studies, some neotectonic evidence distribution
models have been made. Figure 1 displays a map with the
current tectonic model of Colombia prepared by
INGEOMINAS, and complements the location map of active
faults (Figure 2) by H. Mora, INGEOMINAS, 2009.
In the References some of the local and regional
publications on the subject are listed, although it does not
include international references that exist in other languages
around the world.

2.1 Background on Oil Pipelines

In the Oil Pipeline Santiago - El Porvenir, on 31
December 1990, Santiago Field staff found a 6 cm pipe
displacement of the oil pipeline to the East (Figure 3). Later,
during a visit from 7 to 9 February 1991 movement evidences
were detected in the valves sites and some landslides in the
neighbouring areas, in K52 and K72 sectors. These landslides
coincide with areas where geological faults of Yopal (K52) and
Guaicaramo (K72) outcrop, according to the name in the map
of Figure 4.

Figure 1: Tectonic model of Colombia. INGEOMINAS

Figure 3: Displacement pipeline.

To determine the extent of ground movement a precision

survey was made using the geodesic points located along the
pipeline, taking advantage of the fact that the coordinates of
these points had been determined in mid-1990 supported by the
National Geodesic Network. In order to reduce error and given
that the previous measurement was made using the Tellurometer
(CA 1000) and a one-second theodolite, as a control measure it
was used the direct distance reading between the geodesic
points: Monte 907 and Buenavista and Rey-908 and Teques; the
first located on the top of "Cuchilla del Silvadero" spur south of
the pipeline's south and the second on the edge of Buenavista
hill, next to the pipeline. The point Rey-908 is on Buenavista
hill at the pipeline's north and Teques in the low plain beside the
pipeline.
Figure 2: Map of active faults. INGEOMINAS.

2 Copyright © 2013 by ASME

 These points have the advantage of being aligned almost
parallel to the pipeline and perpendicular to the aforementioned
fault zones. Figure 4 shows the location of the pipeline, the fault
lines and the control points with the measuring alignments.
With the measuring it was found a 7.8 cm increase in the
distance between the geodesic points Monte 907 and
Buenavista and a 22.5 cm shortening between Rey-908
(Buenavista) and Teques points.
Given the region's geological conditions, the most likely
cause of the displacement of the ground and the pipeline was
the reactivation of the geological faults crossing the pipeline
due to the action of an earthquake. To verify this hypothesis a
research was conducted in the available seismic records at the
Instituto Geofísico de los Andes, it was found that in the week
before the movement 2 earthquakes of medium magnitude
struck, the first being on 29 December 1990 at 01:55:13.9
(GMT) of magnitude 4.5 its epicentre was located on the
Pacific coast, south of Buenaventura and the second occurred
on 31 December 1990 at 02:38:41.9 (GMT) of magnitude 5.4
and its epicentre was located south of Bucaramanga and with a
depth of 143 km. This latest seism occurred in the night of 30 to
31 December (at 9:38:41.9 pm local time) which was felt in
Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Ibague and Medellin; apparently it was
not felt in the region, however, since the epicentre was located
3 Copyright © 2013 by ASME
on the Eastern Range about 200 km of the oil pipeline, we
believe that this earthquake was the cause of the geological
faults displacement.
Examining the seismic recordings of the past 30 years, it is
found that in the country earthquakes above magnitude 5.0
occur in varying amounts between 2 and 35 with an annual
average of 12 earthquakes of similar magnitude or greater than
the one that could have reactivated fault movements of the
region occupied by the oil pipeline on 31 December 1990.
Given the geological structure of the region occupied by the
pipeline where there is subsidence in an area of the Llanero
foothills, hence the plain is gradually putting underneath the
Eastern Range. This situation is verified with the results of
measurements made, according to these values there has been a
22.5 cm approach between the mountains and the plain. This
imposes significant compressive strains on the pipe, which can
elastically absorb much of them and focus stress on the curves,
which tend to increase the degree of curvature; this stress
concentration in the corners can lead the pipeline to a dangerous
situation, particularly in the access bayonets to sub-fluvial
crossings where they are high-point compound vertical curves
and where there is also a change in the stiffness of the pipeline
by the action of the concrete coating which produces a higher
stress concentration.
 Locally, due to a geological disposal there was a
compression zone spanning from K0 to about K60
approximately and a tension zone located between about the
K63 approximately and El Porvenir Station (K79.9), the latter
can also become a compression zone in a greater movement.
The analysis of available information arise two possible
hypothesis about the future behaviour of the faults, the first one
suggests that there was some energy stored, which was released
during the earthquake of December 31 and major deformations
in the next 5 years should not be expected. The second
hypothesis is a little more drastic, it leads to believe that seismic
movements of a certain magnitude can cause displacement of
the faults as happened last December 31; the latter hypothesis is
alarming when considering the number of earthquakes that
occur in the country (12 per year) of equal magnitude or even
higher than the aforementioned seism.
Subsequent measurements indicate that these movements
continue, in the next 5 years a 33 cm shortening of terrain has Figure 6: Pipeline under compresión.
been determined, during various events, these deformations
were concentrated at envisaged sites where curves were induced 3 THE NEED FOR STUDIES
in the pipeline by using cameras that allow these curvature According to the evidence we have, it is necessary to
changes. LASMO OIL Colombia Limited, authorized the author conduct in-depth Neotectonic studies involving regions
in 1991 to publish information obtained during maintenance occupied by the pipeline and serving as a framework for future
consultancy for the pipeline Santiago - El Porvenir. projects, the results of studies are shown in References, some of
which with the procedures undertaken for implementation,
based on them, some activities considered as minimal are
proposed:
1) Geologic faults identification and folds modification
Data analysis
- National Geologic Database in INGEOMINAS
(1:500000 and 1:100000).
- Oil basins cartographic database of ANH and
Ecopetrol.
- Maps and mining studies.
- INGEOMINAS reports.
General explorations
- Satellite images.
- Helicopter overflights.
2) Geologic faults characterization and Folds
Data analysis
- Neotectonic reports.
- Geologic reports from hydroelectric power plants.
- Seismic microzoning reports.
Figure 5: Cauca river crossing. 3) Geomorphological assessment
- Satellite images.
In the pipeline network of ECOPETROL evidence of - Radar images.
ground displacements has been observed, this is attributable to - Aerial photographs.
neotectonic processes (Figures 5 and 6) that constitute a threat - Other remote sensors.
to its integrity, however there has been no systematic - Helicopter reconnaissance.
measurements and there is no authorization from the Company - Direct reconnaissance.
for disclosure of the activities done. 4) Direct exploration
- Exploratory trenches.
- Road cutting surveys.
- Tunnels and galleries surveys.

4 Copyright © 2013 by ASME

 5) Activity measurement
Redefinition surveys in the IGAC National Geodesic
Network
- Original network (1950-1955).
- MAGNA-SIRGAS Network.
6) Installation of a GPS monitoring network
7) Corridors zoning
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are grateful to the ASME-IPG2013 organizers.
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