Kraidi, L, Shah, RK, Matipa, WM and Borthwick, F (2018) An Analysis of the Critical Risk Factors in Oil and Gas Pipeline Projects using a Comprehensive Risk Management Framework. In: ARCOM Conference Proceedings . pp. 360-369. (Association of Researchers in Construction Management 34th (ARCOM 4th), 03 September 2018 - 05 September 2018, Belfast).
Risk Factors (RFs) associated with the design, construction and operation of Oil and Gas Pipeline (OGP) projects have a serious impact on the safety of a project. The limitations of the effective risk analysis techniques due to a lack of reliable risk data - particularly in insecure countries like Iraq where OGPs are suffering from sabotage attacks - frequently cause great challenges in the attempt to mitigate these risk factors and provide a systematic risk management system. This paper, therefore, aims to analyse OGPs' RFs more accurately using a more systematic and holistic Risk Management Framework (RMF). The RMF was designed under three steps. Step 1 focused on carrying out a comprehensive review to identify the RFs in OGP projects in different countries and some of the Risk Mitigation Methods (RMMs) used in these projects. Step 2 used a questionnaire survey to analyse the RFs regarding their influence on OGP projects and to evaluate the RMMs based on their degrees of effectiveness to mitigate the RFs. The ranking of the RFs indicated that proper attention needs to be paid to the question of what motivates third-party disruption to OGPs in Iraq like sabotage, terrorism and theft risks. Step 3 was about recommending some RMMs to mitigate the RFs in these projects based on the results of the survey. The RMF and its recommendations could be used to more effectively manage the RFs in OGP projects in troubled countries that have just begun to address such risks.