Practice Focuses on Hydrogen-Specific Risks in Offshore Pipelines

Accredited registrar and classification society DNV has issued a recommended practice for offshore hydrogen pipelines, supporting safe design, operation and requalification of pipeline infrastructure in hydrogen service.

The DNV-RP-F123 Hydrogen pipeline systems recommended practice addresses hydrogen-specific integrity and safety considerations, including risks such as hydrogen embrittlement, and supplements DNV’s established submarine pipeline standard, DNV-ST-F101, published in 1976.

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Recommended Practice Scope

According to DNV, the new recommended practice adds additional guidance tailored to transporting hydrogen gas and hydrogen blends in pipeline systems and is relevant for new pipeline developments and for organizations considering requalifying existing offshore infrastructure for hydrogen transport.

“Hydrogen service fundamentally changes the integrity picture for pipeline systems, it cannot be treated as a simple variant of natural gas,” said Prajeev Rasiah, Executive Vice President and Regional Director for Northern Europe, Energy Systems at DNV.

“This recommended practice moves beyond theoretical study to provide an evidence-based framework for assessing hydrogen-specific risks in design, requalification, and operation. By closing the gaps around material suitability and safety margins, we are giving teams the technical clarity needed to move projects from the study phase into execution. This is particularly vital for requalifying existing infrastructure, where the guidance helps define exactly what must be tested or upgraded to ensure a safe reliable and sustainable transition.”

H2Pipe Joint Industry Project

It has been developed through the H2Pipe joint industry project (JIP), which took place from 2021 to 2026, which consolidated research, testing and industry experience into guidance intended to be used directly in engineering projects and qualification work.

The JIP brought together 37 industry partners, including operators, manufacturers, engineering companies, and academic advisors. DNV is now launching Phase 3 of the project.

Next Phase and Testing

“The next step for the industry is large-scale testing to validate data and advance existing standards. This phase will include full-scale pipe testing at DNV’s Spadeadam Research and Development Facility. The results will feed into the continued development of DNV-RP-F123 and future guidance,” said Jan Fredrik Helgaker, Principal Engineer and Project Manager at DNV.