The Spring Pipeline Coatings Summit brought together over 340 industry professionals from 28 countries for three days of technical sessions, panel discussions, and networking at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. The event set a new attendance record and generated significant discussion around emerging coating technologies and evolving regulatory requirements.
Day One: Advances in Spray Polyurea Technology
The opening keynote by Dr. Sarah Whitfield of the Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) provided a comprehensive review of five-year field performance data on spray polyurea coatings across 23 pipeline systems. Key findings included average service lives exceeding initial design life by 15 years and cathodic disbondment rates 60% lower than comparable epoxy systems under identical CP conditions.
Day Two: Regulatory Update Session
The day two regulatory panel featured representatives from PHMSA, Transport Canada, and the EU Pipeline Safety Coordination Group. Discussion centered on the pending PHMSA coating standards update and its implications for operators running legacy coating systems on aging infrastructure. Panelists emphasized the 2–3 year lead time needed for operators to qualify new coating systems before regulatory deadlines.
Day Three: Workshops and Networking
The final day featured hands-on workshops on plural-component spray equipment maintenance, holiday testing procedures, and cathodic protection troubleshooting. The evening networking dinner drew the largest turnout in the event’s history, with strong interest in the organization’s new regional chapter program.
All presentation materials from the Summit are available to members in our resources library. Registration for the Fall Technical Conference is now open.