API Announces 2025 Distinguished Pipeline Safety Award Winners

AURORA, Colorado, April 27, 2026 - The American Petroleum Institute (API) today announced the recipients of the 2025 API Distinguished Pipeline Safety Awards. Selected by their peers following a rigorous application and review process, these awards recognize pipeline operators that exemplify the industry's highest standards for safe, reliable operations and community engagement.

"Safety is the foundation of everything we do, and these award winners show how our industry continues to raise the bar," API President and CEO Mike Sommers said. "Pipelines are essential infrastructure-they move the energy that powers our economy and support American families every day. Our members are strengthening environmental performance, advancing technology, working with communities and helping set the global standard for safety."

The Small Operator Winner, Explorer Pipeline Company, was recognized for its strong culture of safety, risk management practices and proactive stakeholder engagement. In 2025, the company reintroduced its FOCUS Summit - a training and collaboration event for employees. It also conducted an audit of its pipeline corridors that will improve accuracy and incident response.

The Medium Operator Winner, ExxonMobil Pipeline Company LLC, was recognized for its leadership in integrity management and commitment to sharing safety learnings across the industry. In 2025, the company pioneered a first-of-its-kind high-speed ultrasonic crack detection in-line inspection tool, enabling accurate crack detection without reducing flow rates or impacting operations. The company also demonstrated technical and policy leadership by delivering presentations on CO₂ pipeline development, API RP 1185 implementation, and innovative emergency response training.

The Large Operator Winner, Colonial Pipeline Company, was recognized for its use of emerging technologies and strong integrity management practices. In 2025, the company advanced leak detection through its use of academic partnerships to evaluate emerging technologies, including high-resolution volatile organic compound sensors and vibroacoustic sensing. The company further strengthened industry-wide progress through benchmarking and active participation in the API Pipeline Information Exchange, Pipeline Research Council International, and API committees.

This year, API introduced the Extra-Large Operator category, reflecting the continued growth and scale of pipeline systems supporting America's energy needs.

The Extra-Large Operator Winner, Phillips 66 Pipeline LLC, was recognized for its leadership in safety management, use of emerging technologies and implementation of API RP 1173. In 2025, the company embedded Health, Safety, and Environment and Pipeline Safety Management System metrics directly into incentive compensation for Midstream leaders and employees, reinforcing safety as a core business priority. Phillips 66 also expanded satellite-based analytics to identify encroachments and land-use changes along rights-of-way, enabling more proactive field response.

As a global standards-setting organization, API has developed 48 industry standards to advance safe and efficient pipeline operations. These standards, combined with industry-led initiatives, continue to drive measurable improvements in safety performance nationwide.

This year's awards come as API and the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association (LEPA) released their annual 2025 Pipeline Performance Report, highlighting the industry's continued safety progress even as volumes delivered increase.

The report shows that while pipeline operators delivered 25 percent more liquid energy, total pipeline incidents declined 22 percent from 2021 to 2025, based on data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Safety performance relative to throughput also improved. Total incidents per million barrels delivered fell 31 percent from 2020 to 2024, while incidents impacting people or the environment per million barrels delivered declined 30 percent over the same period.

The 2025 API-LEPA Pipeline Performance Report is available here.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) represents all segments of America's oil and natural gas industry, supporting nearly 11 million U.S. jobs. With approximately 600 members, API companies produce, process, and distribute the majority of the nation's energy. Founded in 1919, API has developed over 800 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

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