Beyond the Possible
SUBSEA PIPELINES DESIGN CHALLENGES
PRESENTATION TO IPLOCA BOARD MEMBERS (21st APRIL, 2015)
Presenters: Mr. Gbenga Suleiman (Lead Pipeline Engineer)
Mr. A. K. Sangal (Pipeline Engineering Manager)
Mr. Oussama Takieddine (Vice President Engineering) 1
Beyond the Possible
NPCC ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 2
Beyond the Possible
NPCC ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES
ONE STOP SHOP
Conceptual Engineering
FEED and Basic Engineering
Detailed Engineering
Constructability Engineering Review
Construction Engineering
Installation Engineering
Naval Engineering
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 3
Beyond the Possible
NPCC ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES
NPCC ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE
Offshore / Onshore upstream facilities • Flare, Vent and Drain Systems
• Well Fluid Gathering • Utilities (Inst. Air / Cooling Water / Hot Water etc.)
• Separation System • Power System
• Gas Compression • Telecom
• Gas Dehydration • Control Systems
• Fuel Gas Treatment • Buildings: Accommodation and Technical Building
• Produced Water Treatment and
Disposal
• Sand Treatment / Separation
• Water and Gas Injection Facilities
• Crude / Products Storage
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 4
Beyond the Possible
NPCC ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES
NPCC ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE
Our offshore capabilities includes subsea pipelines, cables and flexible engineering design, as well
as onshore pipeline design capability.
OFFSHORE PIPELINE AND FLEXIBLES ONSHORE PIPELINE DESIGN
Route Selection Right-of-way selection
Wall Thickness Calculation Wall Thickness Calculation
Stability / Expansion Analysis Anti-Buoyancy Measures
Riser Stress Analysis Piping / Pipeline Stress Analysis
Global Buckling (Lateral & Upheaval) Road and River crossing
Other Detailed Engineering Activities Cathodic Protection (ICCP)
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 5
Beyond the Possible
NPCC ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES
TECH
SUPPORT TECH SUPPORT
SERVICES & VP ‐ E ED PEM
1 PROCESS & SERVICES
PL/QA
NAVAL PEM
66 9 13 SAFETY
0 11 4
PROCESS &
NAVAL CIVIL SAFETY
30 30 E&I
22 STRUCTURAL
CIVIL E&I
6 MECHANICAL
121 35
28 59
STRUCTURAL MECHANICAL
47
PIPELINE
PIPELINE PIPING PIPING
NPCC Engineering - Abu Dhabi Base NPCC Engineering – India (NEL)
ENGINEERING STRENGTH
We also have about 275 staff in other engineering support center – India
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 6
Beyond the Possible
NPCC ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES
NPCC NEL
1200 Forecast
Engineering Manpower
1,000
1000
835 250
800
630 209
590 580
600 550
100 115 160
410 120
400 70 750
626
200 490 465 430 470
340
0
ENGINEERING MANPOWER HISTOGRAM
Over 95% of our workforce are permanent staff
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 7
Beyond the Possible
TECHNICAL PRESENTATION
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 8
Beyond the Possible
CONTENTS
1. PIPELINES/CABLES ROUTE SELECTION
General Route Selection Criteria
Route Selection Challenges
New Approach to Route Selection
2. PIPELINES/CABLES STABILITY ON SEABED
Concept of Stability Design
Conventional Approach to Stability Design & Mitigation Method
New Approach to Stability Design & Mitigation Method
3. SOME EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN SUBSEA PIPELINES
Materials selection
Design / Analysis
Pipeline Integrity
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 9
Beyond the Possible
1. PIPELINES/CABLES ROUTE SELECTION
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 10
Beyond the Possible
PIPELINES/CABLES ROUTE SELECTION
GENERAL ROUTE SELECTION CRITERIA
Minimize route length as much as possible.
Minimize health and safety risk and ensure marine life
sustainability.
Consider environmental and regulatory factors.
Optimise flow assurance (minimize pressure losses).
Minimize pipeline free spans and amount of intervention work.
Consider the piggability philosophy of the pipeline.
Avoid Flare Heat Affected Zone (HAZ), dropped object areas, etc.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 11
Beyond the Possible
PIPELINES/CABLES ROUTE SELECTION
ROUTE SELECTION CRITERIA CONT’D.
Avoid boulders, pockmarks, submarine exercise area, dredging, wrecks, fishing areas, etc.
Avoid Sabkha areas (Onshore)
Avoid pre-defined areas due to existing infrastructure and geo-technically unstable areas
Minimize local slide risk (avoiding the steepest slopes)
Minimize and/or avoid crossings on curves and within proximity of existing crossings, wherever possible.
Ensure crossing angle, if required, is not less than 30°
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 12
Beyond the Possible
PIPELINES/CABLES ROUTE SELECTION
ROUTE SELECTION CHALLENGES
Seabed features e.g. Boulders, Rocks, Rough bottom, and Steep slope which are susceptible to landslide.
Seabed obstructions from existing structures e.g. wrecks, PLEM, PLET, e.t.c.
Construction limitations e.g. shore/platform approaches, bend radius, laybarge draft, etc.
Other seabed, users, e.g. shipping lanes, fishing, dredging, exclusion zones, etc.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 13
Beyond the Possible
PIPELINES/CABLES ROUTE SELECTION
NEW APPROACH TO ROUTE SELECTION - Geographical Information System (GIS)
Application used is called ArcGIS
It is a real-time method of pipeline and cable route selection.
It integrates data from different sources into a centralized database
used for modeling and analysis based on spatial component
It has better precision capability in optimizing route
It saves time and cost as compared to the convectional system of
route selection
Good Geophysical /
Geotechnical knowledge
however, is required.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 14
Beyond the Possible
2. PIPELINES/CABLES STABILITY ON SEABED
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 15
Beyond the Possible
PIPELINES/CABLES STABILITY ON SEABED
CONCEPT OF STABILITY DESIGN
Installed subsea pipelines/cables are likely to become unstable under the influence of
hydrodynamic forces and buoyancy effects.
Stability of such pipelines/cables are checked by analysis at the onset of the project design.
Adequate solutions are then considered to prevent the undesired condition.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 16
Beyond the Possible
PIPELINES/CABLES STABILITY ON SEABED
CONVENTIONAL APPROACH TO STABILITY DESIGN
Analysis is usually carried out to determine pipelines/cables stability requirement using software
applications such as:
o AGA software, DNV Stablelines, Plus-one software, etc..
CONVENTIONAL MITIGATION METHOD
Typical mitigation usually recommended for subsea pipelines/cables stability correction are:
o Increase system weight by adding concrete weight coating
o Addition of concrete mattresses
o Use on Anchor blocks / Screw Anchors
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 17
Beyond the Possible
PIPELINES/CABLES STABILITY ON SEABED
CONVENTIONAL MITIGATION METHOD (CONT’D.)
other mitigation methods are:
o Rock-dumping on the installed pipeline
o Grout bag installation
18
Beyond the Possible
PIPELINES/CABLES STABILITY ON SEABED
NEW APPROACH TO STABILITY DESIGN
o ORCAFLEX - developed for dynamic simulation of subsea cables stability.
o ABAQUS - a finite element based software used for optimal pipeline /cables stability analysis .
MITIGATION METHOD
Use of leaded Uraduct and ballasting module for subsea cable stability.
o It has been used by NPCC in previous projects
o Currently in use by NPCC in ongoing project
o Installation is done on the barge,
o Divers assistance is not required
o No degradation of rope like in concrete mattress
o Accurate and efficient
Use of Artificial seaweed mattresses
o Reduce the effect of seawater current on the installed pipelines/cables.
o Restores disturbed marine habitat.
o Not commonly used in this region due to smooth seabed and relatively low current speed
19
Beyond the Possible
3. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN OFFSHORE/SUBSEA PIPELINES
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 20
Beyond the Possible
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES - MATERIALS SELECTION
DEVELOPMENT OF CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS (CRA) CLADDING IN STEEL PIPES
ADVANTAGES
Elimination of Corrosion Allowance (CA)
It allows pipe wall thickness optimization
Prevents pipeline internal corrosion
LIMITATIONS
Not cost effective
Diameter limitation due to cladding
Selection is based on highly corrosive content
only e.g. wet sour gas service
Cost is only justified in highly corrosive service
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 21
Beyond the Possible
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES - MATERIALS SELECTION
3LPE / 3LPP (FBE + ADHESIVE + PE/PP) COATING
It has replaced banned Coal Tar Enamel coating due to its environmentally friendly property.
Better resistance to high temperature system
Better bonding properties and
Ease of Cathodic Protection system installation
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 22
Beyond the Possible
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES - PIPELINE ENGINEERING DESIGN
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD IN PIPELINE DESIGN (GLOBAL BUCKLING – LATERAL / UPHEAVAL)
Advent of Finite Element Method approach has:
Introduced the system of discretization of pipeline system for
effective and efficient design
(Discretization: breaking down into distinct elements)
It enhances the non-linear finite simulation of global behavior
of pipeline system such as Lateral Buckling and Walking
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 23
Beyond the Possible
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES - PIPELINE ENGINEERING DESIGN
ENGINEERING CRITICAL ANALYSIS (ECA)
Based on Fracture Mechanics
(Fracture Mechanics – study of crack propagation in materials)
Introduces the development of Weld Imperfection Acceptance Criteria
Preferred method for field girth weld inspection and quality control for long pipeline projects.
Used in Crack Tip Open Displacement (CTOD) test in Line pipe
It has been extensively applied by NPCC in previous projects
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 24
Beyond the Possible
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES - PIPELINE ENGINEERING DESIGN
SOIL LIQUEFACTION AND SEABED SCOURING
Soil liquefaction causes seabed subsidence along the pipeline
route.
Scouring induces unwanted span along the pipeline route.
These phenomena has necessitated the need for
further seabed study at the onset of pipeline design.
Its becoming a concern at crossing locations / touch-down
points.
Advantages includes:
Reduces risk of pipeline failure .
Reduces intervention / maintenance cost
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 25
Beyond the Possible
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES - PIPELINE INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT
PIM APPROACH AT DESIGN STAGE
Pipeline cathodic protection system
Pipeline external corrosion coating
Pipeline internal corrosion lining
Design of anti-corrosive injection system, e.t.c.
PIM APPROACH AT OPERATION STAGE
Pipeline In-Line Inspection by introduction of intelligent Pigging
Routine Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement (UTM)
Introduction of Corrosion Coupon monitoring system
Injection of anti-corrosive compound e.g. Biocides for internal corrosion prevention, e.t.c.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 26
Beyond the Possible
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES - PIPELINE INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT
The global recognition of Integrity Management has created ample brown field project
opportunities,
As the IOCs and NOCs focuses more on Integrity Management for sustainability, PIM
opportunity is bound to grow.
WAY FORWARD
Invest in R & D to provide pipeline design
Lifetime Extension (LTE) solution to our client /operators.
Improve on existing pipeline design/integrity technologies currently available.
Embark on drastic, but sustainable cost cutting measures to remain competitive
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 27
Beyond the Possible
THANK YOU
Questions please
Wednesday, May 06, 2015 28
