By Yin Pumin

A recent explosion has raised questions about the design and management of Chinas underground oil pipelines.

The explosion took place in Qingdao， east Chinas Shandong Province， on November 22 after crude oil leaked from an underground pipeline operated by China Petrochemical Corp.， also known as Sinopec， one of the countrys largest petroleum companies. As of December 3， the blast had claimed 62 lives and injured more than 100 others.

Yang Dongliang， Director of the State Administration of Work Safety and head of a team leading the investigation into the incident， commented on November 25 that the accident had exposed the irrational layout of oil pipelines and urban drainage pipes as well as the negligence of duty in pipeline supervision and the unprofessional handling of oil leaks prior to the blast.

On November 28， the State Administration of Work Safety decided to conduct a nationwide check of oil pipelines and urban underground pipelines. Focus will be put on seven factors， including pipeline design， quality， protection measures， supervision， responsibility， emergency planning and daily management， according to the administration.

Poor planning

According to media reports， the Qingdao blast not only led to large amounts of casualties but also damaged nearby roads and buildings， which has aroused questions about the design of the oil pipeline and whether or not it should have been so close to a residential area.

“In theory， oil pipelines must be built far from places where people live to avoid an accident such as this one，” said Dai Shenzhi， a professor with the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Shanghai-based Tongji University.

According to Dai， underground pipelines can be divided into two types—production pipelines and living pipelines. “Oil pipelines and those used to transport gases to and from chemical factories belong to the production class. They must be built in special pipe corridors，” he said.

After the accident， Qingdao Municipal Government admitted that the citys underground pipelines are complicated and there are faults in their design. According to the government， the explosion occurred when workers were clearing the crude oil leaking from an underground pipeline. The spill also seeped into the citys rainwater pipe network， which empties into the Jiaozhou Bay.

Guo Jishan， Deputy Secretary General of Qingdao Municipal Government， said there was a concentration of different oil pipelines and dangerous pipes and the explosion of one would affect others.

Deng Daoming， an associate professor with the Beijing-based China University of Petroleum， said that oil pipelines should be kept at least 30 meters away from residential areas and also laid at a distance from the municipal pipe network， which includes drainage， gas and thermal pipelines， to avoid the failure of one pipeline affecting the operation of others.

“But in east China， where land is so precious， sometimes local authorities urban planning is lax and they crave economic gains，” Deng said.

Fast urbanization puts further pressure on underground pipelines. During Chinas rapid development， the number of underground pipelines for drainage， electricity， communications， natural gas and heating has increased at an astonishing speed.

According to the official data of Qingdao， at least 11 different types of pipelines have been laid under the citys Huangdao Island， where the November 22 blast happened.

However， planning methods for networks of underground pipelines lag behind urban development， with the sharp increase in pipe- lines causing crowding underground， said Pan Jiahua， Director of the Urban and Environmental Studies Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The problem of focusing on construction while neglecting the management of the underground pipeline system also needs attention， according to Guo Jinsong， a researcher in urban construction at Chongqing University.

Luo Yameng， President of the China City International Association who has done on-site investigation in Qingdao， said that Qingdao has over-development issues due to inappropriate city planning and construction.

“Huangdao Island was uninhabited when the pipeline blueprint came out. We should build and lay the pipelines in accordance with land safety evaluations， and the pipelines were designed and installed when it was barren land instead of a developed region，” Deng explained.

T h e r a p i d development of urbanization in China has led to excessive construction of buildings as well as poor planning and management of underground pipe networks， Dai added. “In fact， building and maintaining underground pipelines must also be included in a citys infrastructure.”

“In reality， authorities always attach more significance to what looks good on the outside， but focus less on the pipelines buried underground，” Dai sighed.

Ma Xuesong， an associate professor in administration studies at Jilin University， added that in many places， urban planning lacks public input and planning cannot be consistently implemented for different reasons， including the transfer of relevant officials to other cities.

“The responsibilities of urban planning should be clarified and the role of public monitoring should be strengthened to improve the situation，” Ma said.

Guo Jinsong expressed his concerns over the service lifespan of Chinas pipelines. According to him， some pipelines have been used for 20 to 30 years and lack proper maintenance.

Deng said that oil pipelines can usually serve for around 30 years and even up to 50 years if well maintained， pointing out the importance of preventing rust and corrosion combined with regular performance checks on the pipelines.

Official data indicate the pipeline in Qingdao that ruptured had been in use since 1986.

Management needs

China currently lacks comprehensive data on underground pipelines in urban areas， which is a major cause of the loose management of pipe- line networks， said Jiang Yifang， Deputy Director of the Underground Pipeline Committee of the China Association of City Planning.

According to Jiang， there are two broad categories of underground pipelines in China. The first is long-distance pipelines， which mainly transfer energy， information and resources between provinces and cities； the second type consists of urban underground pipelines that transport resources， energy and information as well as drainage functions.

“Due to historical and systematic reasons， Chinese cities seldom have precise information about their own underground pipelines，” Jiang said.

Following the embarrassing situation， Chinas construction authorities have demanded the strengthening of urban underground pipeline management， requiring local governments to make investigations into urban underground pipelines.

“Information on underground pipelines in urban areas can provide the necessary support for urban planning and construction， and help guide the management and maintenance of underground pipeline networks，” Jiang said.

However， according to Jiangs investigation in 2012， there were only 253 cities in China that had ever undertaken investigations to their underground pipelines between 2000 and 2011.“Even today， having no precise information about underground pipelines is common in many Chinese cities，” he said.

According to the Code of Archives Management of Urban Underground Pipelines issued in 2004， local construction archive management departments should establish information systems for underground pipelines and update that information regularly.

“However， the reality is that there are only a few cities that have their own construction archive management departments， not to mention the even fewer making thorough investigations，” Jiang said， adding that without precise information its impossible for local governments to conduct effective management of their underground pipelines.

Another factor hindering the effective management of urban underground pipelines is that there is not a uniform department to supervise and coordinate the management of those pipelines， according to Jiang.

“Different pipelines are managed by different departments or companies and they lack coordination between them， so it is difficult to deal with loopholes even if everyone is aware of them，” Jiang said.

According to media reports， in the buildup and aftermath of the November 22 explosion in Qingdao， it was insufficient exchange of information that led to workers failing to report in time.

Jiang suggested establishing a special body to coordinate the management of underground pipelines.

Besides different management bodies， various investment subjects are also a cause to lack of unified planning for urban underground pipelines. According to Jiang， some state-owned enterprises make investment according to their own plans， refusing to coordinate with other local departments， which always leads to messy building of underground pipelines.

“As a result， there are often some abandoned underground pipelines left by enterprises without being properly dealt with， which will become potential dangers to local residents，”Jiang said.

Furthermore， some state-owned enterprises often refuse to hand the data about their pipelines to local governments due to confidentiality considerations. “This will make it hard for local governments to do effective management to those abandoned underground pipelines，”said Dai with Tongji University.