This report details the work undertaken by the International Gas Union (IGU) Study Group 3.4 during the triennium 2003 – 2006. The initiative that launched this work came during the 22nd World Gas Conference where it was noticed that use of pipeline incident information often is not fit for purpose.

A comparative analysis has been carried out considering the most frequently used and reliable high pressure gas pipeline incident databases. The four main objectives of the analysis were to determine the differences and similarities of existing databases, create a reference model to be used when developing a new pipeline incident database, assess if harmonization of existing databases is possible and to provide recommendations regarding the above.