In Belgium, gaseous products are mainly transported through pipelines. Belgium has a dense network of about 4,000 km of pipelines. All installations used for the transport of gaseous products through pipelines are subject to federal permits. The law of 12 April 1965 forms the legal basis for transport by pipeline.
Legal framework for the safety of pipeline transport installations
An extensive regulatory framework was drawn up to guarantee the safety of the installations used to transport gaseous products through pipelines.
The regulatory framework consists of:
- the Royal Decree of 19 March 2017 concerning the safety measures regarding the establishment and operation of installations for the transport of gaseous and other products by pipeline. This decree includes the general and fundamental safety measures;
- the Technical Codes: these contain the detailed technical regulations applicable to 4 particular areas (design and construction, operation, risk analysis and safety management system). These Technical Codes reflect industry best practices and European and international standards. They are updated regularly;
- the transport permits with any individual regulations.
The regulations take into account:
- the technological developments that have taken place since the basic text;
- current best practices in pipeline transport safety;
- certain elements that have come to light in incidents;
- the need for administrative simplification;
- the rules of good industry practice;
- the functional standards prepared at the European and international level, including by the technical committees for gas infrastructure of the European and international standardisation bodies.
Technical Codes
- Technical Code on Design and Construction (PDF, 707.88 KB)
- Technical Code on Operation (PDF, 1.03 MB)
- Technical Code on Risk Analysis (PDF, 619.05 KB)
- Technical Code on the Safety Management System (PDF, 988.46 KB)
Contact
Consult the Directorate-General for Energy for more information about the transport of gaseous products through pipelines
Directorate-General for Energy – Permits Department
Boulevard Roi Albert II, 16
1000 Brussels
Email: pipelines@economie.fgov.be
