National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 12732:2021. It supersedes BS EN 12732:2013+A1:2014, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee GSE/33, Gas supply.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 December 2021.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 3 October 2021.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (EN 12732:2021) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 234 “Gas infrastructure”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by May 2022, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by May 2022.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes EN 12732:2013+A1:2014.

This document has been prepared under a Standardization Request given to CEN by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association.

Annex L provides details of significant technical changes between this document and the previous edition.

There is a complete suite of functional standards prepared by CEN/TC 234 “Gas infrastructure” to cover all parts from the input of gas to the transmission system up to the inlet connection of the gas appliances, whether for domestic, commercial or industrial purposes.

In preparing this document, a basic understanding of gas infrastructure by the user has been assumed.

Gas infrastructure is complex and the importance on safety of its construction and use has led to the development of very detailed codes of practice and operating manuals in the member countries. These detailed statements embrace recognized standards of gas engineering and the specific requirements imposed by the legal structures of the member countries.

CEN/TC 234 will continue its work updating this standard to the latest developments at regular intervals.

Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

1 Scope

This document contains requirements for the production and testing of weld joints for the installation and modification, including in-service welding, of onshore steel pipelines and pipework used in gas infrastructure. This includes all pressure ranges and processed, non-toxic and non-corrosive natural gas according to EN ISO 13686 and non-conventional gases such as (injected) biomethane and hydrogen, where:

the pipeline elements are made of unalloyed or low-alloyed carbon steel;
the pipeline is not located within commercial or industrial premises as integral part of the industrial process on those premises except for any pipelines and facilities delivering gas to such premises;
the pipework is not located within households or industrial installations according to EN 1775 or EN 15001;
the design temperature of the system is between −40 °C up to and including 120 °C.

For injected biomethane or hydrogen a detailed technical evaluation of the functional requirements is required, ensuring there are no other constituents or properties of the gases that can affect the integrity of the pipeline.

This document is not applicable to welds produced prior to the publication of this document.

This document specifies common basic principles for gas infrastructure. Users of this document are expected to be aware that there can exist more detailed national standards and/or codes of practice in the CEN member countries.

This document is intended to be applied in association with these national standards and/or codes of practice setting out the above-mentioned basic principles.

In the event of conflicts in terms of more restrictive requirements in national legislation/regulation with the requirements of this document, the national legislation/regulation takes precedence as illustrated in CEN/TR 13737 (all parts).

NOTE CEN/TR 13737 (all parts) contains:

• clarification of relevant legislation/regulations applicable in a country;

• if appropriate, more restrictive national requirements;

• national contact point for the latest information.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 General requirements

4.1 General

4.2 Quality system requirements

4.3 Welding contractors

4.4 Welding procedure requirements

4.5 Welders

4.6 Welding supervisory and coordination personnel

4.7 Non destructive testing (NDT)

4.8 Destructive testing (DT)

5 Production welding

5.1 General

5.2 Working area

5.3 Layout of weld joints

5.4 Types of weld joints

5.5 Joint preparation

5.6 Preheating

5.7 Tacking

5.8 Welding

5.9 Actions after welding

5.10 Repair of weld defects

5.11 Destructive testing of production welds for DP over 16 bar

6 Attachment-, and in-service welding

6.1 General

6.2 Attachment of structural parts

6.3 Attachment of cathodic protection connections

6.4 Hot-tapping and other welding work on in-service pipelines

7 Inspection of the weld joint

7.1 General

7.2 Scope of inspection

7.3 Non-destructive testing, assessment levels and acceptance criteria

7.4 Time of inspection

7.5 Tie in welds for DP over 16 bar

7.6 Recording of test results

7.7 Requirements for records and documentation

8 Metering, regulating and compressor stations

Bibliography

BS EN 12732:2021

Gas infrastructure. Welding steel pipework. Functional requirements

Current

Published:

31 Dec 2021