A Comprehensive Survey on Pipeline Monitoring Technologies: Advancements, Challenges, Market Opportunities and Future Directions
Ahmed Akl, Rasha Hasan
Abstract
Pipelines are essential infrastructure used to transport resources such as oil, gas, water, and sewage. Efforts should be driven toward ensuring the safe operation of these pipelines, as this directly impacts resource waste, environmental hazards, and economic losses. This paper provides a comprehensive study of pipeline monitoring technologies, focusing on their key considerations, recent advancements, and emerging trends. First, the paper highlights the key considerations that influence the monitoring system’s design, including pipeline materials, surrounding terrain, regulatory compliance, and operational costs. Next, the paper addresses the classification of a wide spectrum of pipeline monitoring technologies that span over the last decade, including modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT). Also, the limitations of each of these technologies are highlighted in the sense of their effectiveness in detecting leaks, corrosion, structural defects, and external threats. Additionally, the paper discusses market opportunities and industrial products to guide the reader in finding solutions that were deployed in real-life use cases from among the wide spectra of existing ones. By focusing on pipeline monitoring key considerations, monitoring technologies comparison, market opportunities, industrial products, and ethical considerations, this paper plots a road map for stakeholders in the field of pipeline monitoring. To the best of our knowledge, this comprehensive study has not been addressed in literature so far, leaving a significant gap that our work aims to fill.