Failure to comply with safety rules and regulations could cost you as much as £5 million. Click here to download the \\\"Special Requirements for Safe Working in Close Proximity to High Pressure Pipelines\\\" document     On average, about 50% of all oil spilt from European oil pipelines is due to 3rd Party damage and any loss automatically results in a pollution incident. In 2004, it was remarkable that third party incidents were not the single biggest cause of oil loss although one of the reported spillages from this cause resulted in the largest loss.     The pipelines are either gas (natural gas or ethylene) or oil pipelines (the majority of which are multi-product pipelines which means that they carry different grades of refined petroleum products, gasoline, jet and diesel fuels).     They all operate at high pressure, typically in-excess of 66 bar (1000 psi) and some up to 100 bar (1500 psi).     The pipelines range in diameter from 100mm (4") to 406mm (16") and usually have a black coating.     These pipelines are predominantly cross-country but may be encountered during street works where they either cross or occasionally run down the road, this can happen in both rural and urban areas.