Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis

Talha Kemal Koçak; Şakir Karakoç; Hayrettin Aygöl

doi:10.64808/engineeringperspective.1799368

Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis

Abstract

Crude oil is a critical energy resource and is predominantly transported by pipeline, which is widely regarded as the safest mode of transport. Nevertheless, pipeline incidents persist and pose risks to infrastructure, public health, and the environment. These incidents are influenced by multiple interacting factors, making it difficult to assess both their causes and consequences in a consistent risk framework. In this study, we analyzed 192 crude oil pipeline incidents that occurred between 2019 and 2024 in southeastern Türkiye, with a focus on causal factors, background factors, and consequence severity. External interference (43%) and corrosion (39%) were identified as the dominant causes of incidents, while illegal tapping and internal corrosion emerged as the most frequent sub-causes. Although fires and explosions were rare (2% of incidents), environmental contamination occurred in 86.5% of cases. Statistical analysis indicated that incident costs varied significantly by causal factor (Kruskal–Wallis, p = 0.0001). In multivariate analysis, pipe material emerged as the strongest independent predictor of high-cost incidents, with fiberglass pipelines associated with substantially higher odds of high-cost incidents than carbon steel (OR = 3.6, p < 0.05), while corrosion and external interference showed comparable cost (OR = 1.58, p > 0.05). These findings demonstrate that incident consequences are not randomly distributed, but are strongly associated with failure mechanisms and design characteristics. By linking causal factors to consequence severity, this study supports the integration of cause-dependent consequence metrics into pipeline risk assessment and integrity management, and provides empirical insights relevant to crude oil pipeline networks operating under similar conditions.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

Not applicable

Ethical Statement

Not applicable

Thanks

We would like to thank the Turkish National Pipeline Unit for their cooperation in data collection. The Turkish National Pipeline Unit was not involved in any other role for the preparation of this article, such as study design, analysis, interpretation, and writing.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Environmental and Sustainable Processes, Petroleum Engineering (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Talha Kemal Koçak ^*
0000-0002-2764-0994
Türkiye

Şakir Karakoç
0009-0006-9993-7793
United Kingdom

Hayrettin Aygöl
0000-0001-8375-1157
United States

Publication Date

February 26, 2026

Submission Date

October 17, 2025

Acceptance Date

February 15, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 6 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.64808/engineeringperspective.1799368

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA87LK95TY

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Koçak, T. K., Karakoç, Ş., & Aygöl, H. (2026). Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis. Engineering Perspective, 6(2), 122-132. https://doi.org/10.64808/engineeringperspective.1799368

AMA

1.Koçak TK, Karakoç Ş, Aygöl H. Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis. engineeringperspective. 2026;6(2):122-132. doi:10.64808/engineeringperspective.1799368

Chicago

Koçak, Talha Kemal, Şakir Karakoç, and Hayrettin Aygöl. 2026. “Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis”. Engineering Perspective 6 (2): 122-32. https://doi.org/10.64808/engineeringperspective.1799368.

EndNote

Koçak TK, Karakoç Ş, Aygöl H (February 1, 2026) Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis. Engineering Perspective 6 2 122–132.

IEEE

[1]T. K. Koçak, Ş. Karakoç, and H. Aygöl, “Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis”, engineeringperspective, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 122–132, Feb. 2026, doi: 10.64808/engineeringperspective.1799368.

ISNAD

Koçak, Talha Kemal - Karakoç, Şakir - Aygöl, Hayrettin. “Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis”. Engineering Perspective 6/2 (February 1, 2026): 122-132. https://doi.org/10.64808/engineeringperspective.1799368.

JAMA

1.Koçak TK, Karakoç Ş, Aygöl H. Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis. engineeringperspective. 2026;6:122–132.

MLA

Koçak, Talha Kemal, et al. “Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis”. Engineering Perspective, vol. 6, no. 2, Feb. 2026, pp. 122-3, doi:10.64808/engineeringperspective.1799368.

Vancouver

1.Talha Kemal Koçak, Şakir Karakoç, Hayrettin Aygöl. Investigating Crude Oil Pipeline Incidents in Southeastern Türkiye: Causes, Consequences, and the Environmental Cost Analysis. engineeringperspective. 2026 Feb. 1;6(2):122-3. doi:10.64808/engineeringperspective.1799368