ISO 15589-1:2015 specifies requirements and gives recommendations for the pre-installation surveys, design, materials, equipment, installation, commissioning, operation, inspection, and maintenance of cathodic protection systems for on-land pipelines, as defined in ISO 13623 or EN 14161 for the petroleum, petrochemical, and natural gas industries, and in EN 1594 or EN 12007‑1 and EN 12007‑3 used by gas supply industries in Europe.

All contents of this part of ISO 15589 are applicable to on-land pipelines and piping systems used in other industries and transporting other media such as industrial gases, waters, or slurries.

ISO 15589-1:2015 applies to buried pipelines, landfalls of offshore pipeline sections protected by on-shore based cathodic protection installations, and to immersed sections of on-land pipelines such as river or lake crossings.

ISO 15589-1:2015 specifies requirements for pipelines of carbon steel, stainless steel, cast iron, galvanized steel, or copper. If other pipeline materials are used, the criteria to apply are defined under the responsibility of the pipeline operator.

ISO 15589-1:2015 does not apply to pipelines made of reinforced concrete for which EN 12696 can be applied.

NOTE Special conditions sometimes exist where cathodic protection is ineffective or only partially effective. Such conditions can include shielding (e.g. disbonded coatings, thermal-insulating coatings, rocky soil, etc.) and unusual contaminants in the electrolyte.