Abstract
Environmental and territorial compatibility of industrial activities can be evaluated by considering several criteria, usually
formalized in the contest of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA); the pipelines sector, however, is not as well
standardized as others. In this paper, a new methodology to evaluate territorial compatibility of proposed pipelines is presented.
This approach can be useful to assess proper development compatibility of oil and gas pipeline networks, and it could represent an
example of specific technical guidelines supporting territorial planning and management. The evaluation criteria in the proposed
method are both qualitative and quantitative, and are consistent with those used for similar fixed installations (e.g. LNG storage).
The methodology uses a specific checklist in order to calculate a relative pipeline risk index. The checklist and risk index are thus
easyly determined and compared when different technical solutions are examined, in order to rank them accordingly to their
environmental compatibility and safety aspects.