NACE conference a go in Nashville

If it's the middle of March, it must mean I'm -- no, not filling out my basketball bracket (TCU's not in it this year) -- in Nashville attending the annual NACE conference.

Since arriving on Sunday, I've caught up with a number of familiar faces in the industry. It looks like it will be an interesting week.

Today, I'm attending my first technical conference of the week with the Cathodic Protection Technical Evaluation Group (TEG). When the group met last year, it delved deeply into the critical and sometimes contentious topic of Cathodic Protection Criteria.

This will likely be the focus of the conference this time around, too. The definition of Cathodic Protection Criteria is a fundamental issue that could affect how owners and operators under legislative/regulatory requirements meet NACE Criteria. It's also a critical topic for NACE as it tries to get the criteria accepted internationally.

Poorly established criteria could adversely affect companies that work in good faith to satisfy regulatory requirements and protect their assets and public safety. Criteria that are too confining can undermine NACE initiatives.

This means that pipeline and infrastructure owners and operators who aren't under regulatory requirements might choose not to spend the money on cathodic protection. So while -850 mV on potential versus -850 mV off potential might not seem like a big difference, it does have consequences.