OTC 15333 J-lay Installations Lessons Learned

M. Cavicchi, Saipem S.p.A.; K. Ardavanis, SaiBOS CML

Copyright 2003, Offshore Technology Conference This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2003 Offshore Technology Conference held in Houston, Texas, U.S.A., 58 May 2003. This paper was selected for presentation by an OTC Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the Offshore Technology Conference or its officers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented.

2230-m, in the Gulf of Mexico. This pipeline installation is the deepest in the world. The installation also includes twelve inline and termination Sleds with a submerged weight up to 25-ton. These Sleds were installed as an integral part of the flowline pipelay. The present paper outlines the many challenges faced as well as the solutions adopted that contributed to an effective development in pipelaying technology. Saipem 7000 The semi-submersible crane vessel Saipem 7000, equipped with two 7000-ton cranes mounted on its bow, was adapted to accommodate a pipelay system in the form of J-lay tower to meet the challenges of deepwater and ultra-deepwater developments. The J-lay system on board Saipem 7000 is designed for operations up to water depths exceeding 3000m deep (Figure 1). The J-Lay tower can move up to 20 degrees off the vertical. JLay system can be easily installed on the vessel, when it is required to work in J-lay mode and then removed to allow Saipem 7000 to act in the heavy lift mode when needed. The modular tower with its pin connections to the vessel is equipped with three tensioners each of 175-ton capacity. There are also 2 x 500-ton friction clamps for enhanced safety. It also houses two workstations one for welding and the other for non-destructive testing and field joint coating. The system includes an Abandonment & Recovery winch with a capacity of 555-ton. The J-lay system is designed for rigid pipes with diameters from 4-inches to 32-inches in quadruple joints length. Apart form the pipe racks lifting the pipe handling system is fully automatic and no further main crane involvement is required. The behavior of pipelay is monitored by computer for pull, reactions, stresses and touch down point position. Stress condition is compared real time to mathematical models. The Dynamic Positioning system of the Saipem 7000, fully complying with DP Class 3 regulations, is the last generation of Kongsberg Simrad SDP31 system. The total thrusters power consumption is 46,000 kW. The total bollard pull is about 750 tons. Two Innovator ROVs, designed, built and operated by Sonsub, Saipems group, were installed on board the Saipem 7000 to operate for sustained period underwater in depths up to 3500m.

Abstract The installation of ultra deep-water projects in recent years has been a significant goal achieved by Saipem in the field of laying performance. Hoover-Diana During 2000, the Saipem 7000 installed the ExxonMobil Hoover-Diana steel catenary risers and flowlines in 1464-m water depth by J-lay method in the Gulf of Mexico. Saipem scope, relevant to pipelaying, was the installation of two 10-inch OD flowlines and their steel catenary risers, the 18-inch oil and 18-inch gas-export steel catenary risers and the 6-inch flowline and its steel catenary riser. Blue Stream Completing in 2002, the Saipem 7000 installed twin 24-inch pipelines crossing the Black Sea in a water depth of 2150-m The Blue Stream Project is undoubtedly one of the most challenging projects of its type ever attempted because of the difficulties in terms of design, construction, organization and logistics. Saipem scope included design, procurement, construction and pre-commissioning of two 24-inches OD x 31.8-mm pipelines between Russia and Turkey in the Black Sea. The total length was of about 380-km each. Girassol During November 2001, the SaiBOS FDS, installed twin 16-inch pipelines that link the Girassol FPSO with its loading buoy in a water depth of 1400-m in the Angola waters installation included a 450 meters central section of buoyancy module. SaiBOS FDS scope also included the installation of 22 flexibles, varying between 11 and 14-inches outside diameter, between the riser towers and the FPSO, and of more than 47,000-m of umbilicals. Canyon Express During 2002, SaiBOS FDS installed two 90km long 12 inches flowlines in a maximum water depth of

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The ROVs were fitted with large excursion tethers of over than 850-m such that the touch down monitoring and other subsea operations can be carried directly for the laying vessel without the need for an auxiliary support vessel. Hoover-Diana Saipems scope for the Hoover-Diana project included the installation of the mooring system, the spar (called deep draft caisson vessel or DDCV), the topsides, a small amount of hook-up support and the installation of flowlines and steel catenary risers (SCRs) for all the lines (Figures 2, 3). The DDCV for Diana, a huge cylindrical floating platform, 215-m long and a diameter of 37-m, with a deep keel, has a draft of nearly 210-m and is moored to the seabed nearly 1500-m below. The facility processes both oil and gas and has a topsides of about 18,000-tons Saipem 7000 made its debut with its J-Lay tower, in late February 2000 on the Hoover Diana project, with the laying of the first 10-inches flowline in 1464-m water depth. The welding system adopted was a semi-automatic welding system that allows a pipe laying rate of more than 3.2-km per day. Approximately 60-km of flow-lines and export pipelines together with steel catenary risers with diameters ranging from 6, 10 and 18-inches OD in water depths down to 1460-m were laid. Installation of pipelines and relevant steel catenary riser was successfully completed on April 2000 by positioning the 6inch SCR flexjoint over the DDCV receptacle. The installation of the steel catenary risers for the export pipelines to the spar was a particularly challenging and important activity for which J-Lay methods are particularly suited. The lines were freely suspended in 1480-m of water and will remain in catenary for 25 years in very strong currents. The main difficulty faced during installation is the impact of eddy or loop currents; these currents are effectively like an underwater hurricane and may exceed 2.5knots in the Gulf of Mexico. Vessel positioning adjacent to other floating structures and control of the freely suspended catenary of pipe, become of paramount importance and are the key to success. Blue Stream The Blue Stream project involves the design and construction of a compressor station on Russian side of the Black Sea and a gas transportation system consisting of two pipelines from Djubga in Russia to Samsun, Turkey, crossing the Black Sea (Figures 4, 5). Blue Stream is owned by BSPC: a partnership between Gazprom, the Russian National Hydrocarbon Company and Snam of the ENI Group. The project was awarded on a turnkey lump-sum basis and has been carried out by Saipem as leader of a consortium of contractor constituted by Saipem SpA, Bouygues Offshore (now Saipem SA) and a Japanese Consortium (Mitsui, Sumitomo, and Itochu). Saipem was contracted as General Contractor concerned with the project of the compressor facilities in Beregovaya and with the Black Sea crossing. The crossing of the Black Sea is certainly the most challenging section of the entire project. The two subsea

pipelines between Djubga in Russia and Samsun in Turkey are 24-inch diameter and each approximately 385-km in length. Saipems Scope of Work for this Project involved the design, detailed engineering, management, procurement, construction, installation, hydrotesting, dewatering and drying of the two offshore pipelines. Material supply and construction contracts were awarded in early 2000. The installation of the submarine pipeline started in September 2001 with the shore pull operation and shallow water laying using SaiBOS CML Castoro Otto lay vessel. In October 2001 Saipem 7000 started the ultra deep water laying along the Black Sea. The first 24-inch pipeline was successfully completed on February 2002. The second line initiated on March 2002 and was completed on the May 2002, a duration of less than 90 days. The performance of Saipem 7000 was substantially improved along the eastern route and the vessel maintained a daily production rate considerably better than the first line. The improvement was possible because all critical parameters experienced on the first line and recorded by DP-PIPE monitoring system were available to support the second line pipelay operations. Gas delivery via the Blue Stream system was commenced at the end of 2002. The significance of the operational performance of the Saipem 7000 on Blue Stream can me measured by the unprecedented difficulties of the installation of the two pipelines. In the absence of any relevant Russian and Turkey design codes and standards for offshore pipelines, the Blue Stream Project was designed using DNV96 as the primary code. Geotechnical, geomorphologic and bathymetric characteristics of the regions, to be traversed by the pipelines, presented varied and challenging features. This occurred in particular on the Russian slope as it is evidenced in the two canyon routes selected (Figure 6). Ultra deep water, H2S environment, steepness of the slopes and geohazards, were the key design considerations that Saipem and its engineering subcontractor Snamprogetti faced during design, installation engineering and construction. Geo-hazards presented one of the most challenging aspects of Blue Stream. The geo-hazard assessment and its implications in the definition of protective works for the Blue Stream Project were a multi-disciplinary effort involving different environmental and engineering aspects. Laying of approximately 320-km of pipelines in water depths exceeding 1000-m and of more than 200-km in water depths beyond 2000-m tested the actual capacities of the J-lay system. Very severe pipe materials and welding specifications, 100 % automated ultrasonic inspections, maximum strain level allowed less than 0.15 % were adopted. Precision laying was consistently achieved throughout the installation, as required by the difficult profile, typically 5m was required and at special locations 1-3-m was necessary. Additionally complex procedures were adopted in special, i.e. laying along a curve to enter into very narrow corridor limited by a deep canyon and laying in very steep and free spanning areas with the sea bottom characterized by a very low friction factor.

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A correct computation of the ship movements with respect to the touchdown point and an extremely accurate control of the ships heading and position, together with an online lay monitoring computation (DP/Pipe) working in parallel with the dynamic positioning system of Saipem 7000, has made it possible to achieve safe pipeline installation. The mathematical model was able to predetermine and subsequently manage and control all types of laying maneuvers. DP/Pipe, analyzing the strain status of the pipeline and taking under continuous consideration the parameters of relevance, is capable of monitoring all the stresses in the pipe during the laying. Any variations in the strain status have been precomputed for the complete routing. These precomputed theoretical values are compared with the values monitored in real time and the operations are continuously adjusted based on computations as required by progress of the operations. On the first line various storms with 78-m wave height were experienced and which would have stopped work for any conventional 3rd generation lay vessel, however Saipem 7000 kept operating as normal. Relative motions between pipe and ramp roller supports were at that time moderate, confirming the excellent behavior of Saipem 7000 to extreme sea conditions. Under such conditions, it is of the essence to count on dynamic positioning assistance. SAIBOS FDS The SaiBOS FDS (Field Development Ship) is a monohull multi-purpose lay and crane workship, dynamically positioned, which construction was completed in year 2001 (Figure 7). An Integrated Control System provided by Konsberg manages the latest generation of Simrad SDP 32 Dynamic Positioning system complying with Class 3, the Simrad Thruster Control and the Simrad Vessel Control systems. The control system allows to full control of all automation functions of the vessel from any operator station. The vessel is equipped with a pipelay system in the form of Jlay tower to meet the challenges of developing the ultradeepwater fields up to 2500-m water depth. The system is capable of installing pipelines and risers in dynamic position up to 22-inches pipe diameter and allows tower inclinations from 45 to 96-deg off the horizontal and a clamp system with a capacity of 440-ton. The J-lay tower is designed to handle quadruple joints (52 m long) that are supplied directly by the on board firing line, provided with 3 MAG welding stations with orbital double torches. The assembly station in the J-lay tower has been designed in order to allow the passage of 4 m high x 3 m wide x 6 m large special items (valves, SLEDs, Tee) welded in line with the pipeline. At the bottom of the tower it is fitted a stinger with four levels of retractable rollers that are controlling the passage of the special items through the splash zone and they are limiting the bending radius of the pipeline during the vessel motions. The laying is operated by a set of radial clamps engineered to maintain the maximum pressure on the pipe surface within the strict requirement of risers insulation coating.

The vessel is equipped with a main crane of 600-ton capacity for handling large reels, manifolds or perform construction work and with two 50-ton pedestal cranes to transfer and handle on board pipe joints or quad-joints fabricated directly onshore. The vessel is also equipped for the installation of flexible flowlines and umbilicals. In this respect an over-boarding chute with 12 meter radius and two in line tensioners of 90-ton capacity each are located in the starboard stern side of the vessel to permit dual laying when in J-lay mode. There are two Abandonment & Recovery winches of 440-ton and 110-ton capacity respectively. These winches are capable of lowering subsea structures as well as pipelines in 2500-m waterdepth. Two Innovator ROVs, designed, built and operated by Sonsub were installed on board the SaiBOS FDS to operate for sustained period underwater in depths up to 3500-m. These ROVs are fitted with large excursion tethers of 850-m in order that touch down monitoring during J-lay and other subsea operations can be carried directly from the laying vessel without the need for an auxiliary support vessel. SaiBOS CML developed a pipe-laying monitoring software that relates the position of the pipe inside the stinger with the range of catenary profiles suiting the allowable stresses for any water depth. Girassol The Girassol project is a development operated by TotalFinaElf E&P Angola (Figure 8). The first activity of the SaiBOS FDS was the installation of 22 flexibles (production and injection) between the riser towers and the FPSO. The flexibles varied between 11 and 14-inches outside diameter and were more than 300-m long. The transfers to the FPSO were made possible through the use of the two Sonsub Innovators ROVs available on board SaiBOS FDS. More than 47,000-m of umbilicals were also laid from the FPSO by the SaiBOS FDS (Figure 9). The most challenging work for the FDS was the installation of the two Export Lines, the first of this kind to be laid in the world (Figure 10). The water depth of the field, 1400-m combined with the close proximity of the loading buoy, approx. 1800-m, does not allow the standard installation of pipelines laid on the seabed. The lines were constituted by 16-inches pipelines laid from the FPSO to the offloading buoy in a midwater W shape with a 450-m central portion of buoyancy modules (Figure 11). The most difficult section was the section with integrated buoyancy modules (almost 2-m diameter, 3-m long and 5-ton weight) with the tower inclined during the laying to 48-deg and with a special trolley to allow the installation. The welding at an angle of 48 degrees represented an offshore industry first and the SaiBOS FDS is the only vessel capable of J-lay with such a steep angle of the tower. This peculiarity was essential in the construction of the two rigid export lines, otherwise the alternative was to build them onshore and tow them to site, affecting considerably the residual fatigue life. The size of the buoyancy module was the largest possible that could be installed directly inside the assembly station tower.

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During the whole laying phase each export line was connected to a 400-m wire rope from the FPSO and it was required that the SaiBOS FDS applied a constant pull to maintain the laying stresses within the required values. The combination of horizontal pull and tower angle was managed by a step by step procedure and the control of the DP horizontal pull through a dedicated software. Specific sea trials were carried out before the actual operation to tune all the various parameters of the procedure. At the completion of the laying each pipeline was transferred to the offloading buoy through a subsea connection made by the Innovator ROV. The release of the torque moment induced in the export line was another task to face before complete the abandon of the line: the architecture of the A&R wire plays an important role in this respect. The installation of the flexjoints had to be carefully planned; a major problem was the stabbing of the flexjoint inside the receptacle at the entry of the FPSO due to the steepness of the entry angle. The adopted solution to lay the carbon steel lines in a W shape with the SaiBOS FDS, optimizing the laying and minimizing the stresses induced in the pipelines, improved the fatigue life of the project. Canyon Express TheCanyon Express development, operated by TotalFinaElf E&P USA, Inc. (TotalFinaElf), is the most advanced and deepest subsea tieback yet realized. The project combines production from three deepwater gas fields, in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (Figure 12) controlled by different operators: Aconcagua, operated by TotalFinaElf in 2130-m water depth; Kings Peak, operated by BP in 1950-m water depth; Camden Hills, operated by Marathon in 2210-m water depth. SaiBOS FDS installed in 2002 the two 90 km long 12-inches flowlines, of which the shallow portion between 100m and 190-m water depth was performed in S-lay from EMC Castoro 10. During the installation of the flowlines a world record pipelay depth of 2230-m was reached. The installation with SaiBOS FDS started on January 2002 and completed in July 2002. The recovery of shallow water pre-laid pipeline and the startup in J-lay in relatively shallow water was possible because of the range of tilt angle of the tower and the powerful DP system. In order to allow some variation of position of the vessel without affecting the exceeding the allowable stress limits of the pipe, a starting angle of 67-degrees was utilized. This resulted in a pipeline sag-bend radius suitable for the defined movement of the SaiBOS FDS. In March 2002 the SaiBOS FDS suffered a dropped due to a software bug in the control of the Hang Off Clamp. The problem was rectified by upgrading the software version and successfully tested prior to recovery of the flowline. The recovery in 1400-m water depth gave the possibility to test and to properly adapt all the equipment for such a type of contingency operation including the diamond wire saw designed by Sonsub and deployed by Innovator ROV.

The resulting de-watering of long pipelines in deep water has also proved challenging due to the high pressure required and the quality and availability of de-watering tools. After testing and subsequent installation of wellhead jumpers the first export of gas commenced on September 2002. These flowlines include integral inline and termination Sleds (totally 12) (Figures 13, 14) with a submerged weight up to 25-ton each. These sleds allow jumper connections to tie-in subsea Xmas trees into the flowlines. A 12-inches jumper connects the end termination sleds. The sleds, have dimensions at the limit of the special item envelope and during installation, are connected to temporary buoyancy to ensure neutral buoyancy and counter possible sled rotation. The requirement to guarantee sleds upright orientation on the seabed was particularly critical, and required complex detailed installation analyses. The most critical of which was when two sleds where present in a single catenary whilst laying around a curve. Mudmats (up to 200-sqm surface) to provide the bearing capacity to support the sleds where pre-installed as it was not possible to integrate such large mudmats into the sleds and pass them through the J-lay tower. To ensure the correct location of sleds, the pipe was abandoned at sled location on the pre-installed mudmat, marked then retrieved and sled integrated at the marked location. After installation the buoyancy was cut-off. This installation solution resulted in a marginal rotation of the pipe and a very tight final landing position within 0.5-m both laterally and longitudinally has been achieved during the operations in 2200-m water depth. Laying Selection (J-lay Versus S-lay) Pipelay Methods The J-lay methodology is the prime technique for laying pipelines in very deep waters. The pipe is laid through an almost vertical ramp positioned on board of a vessel (Figure 15). The deepwater pipeline is maintained in the optimal angular position and pulled under a predetermined high tensile force while being lowered to the bottom. Vertical space configuration on a J-lay vessel allows for only one pipe joining station, hence a fast and reliable pipe-joining technique or multiple pipe sections are prerequisite for practical use of Jlay method. J-Lay offers the following advantages: allows the pipe to be laid in a more natural configuration; pipe stresses are maintained well within the linear elastic limit; lower lay tension required, resulting in reduced on-bottom tension, hence reducing freespan; less susceptible to weather condition; the vessel is free to choose an optimal heading to minimize environmental forces. However, as the J-lay method is primarily a deep-water method, some limitations occur in shallow water. The selection of a J-lay method allows Saipem to increase significantly its capacity of laying. The maximum water depth installed by Saipem up to the end of 20th Century was the Trasmed Project in 612-m water depth (Figure 16) with a conventional S-lay method. The J-lay method adopted from year 2000 allows Saipem to install pipelines in water depth in excess of 1400-m with the

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Bluestream record of 2150-m with a trunkline in excess of 20inches and the Canyon Express world deepest laying at 2230m for a 12-inches flowline. The advantage of the method adopted and its effect on the laying capabilities is shown by considering the metrics of water depth and pipeline outside diameter. The measure of difficulty is the product of the two metric as shown in Figure 17. This shows how the Bluestream project was a significant challenge in comparison with the previously performed pipeline installations. Moreover the J-lay methodology makes easier and faster to include welded in in-line special items, as evidenced on the Canyon Express project, where the SaiBOS FDS exclusive tower design avoided very critical flanged connections or costly sub-sea interventions in a very deep water gas flowline. Pipelay Monitoring To increase safety and support DP operator during pipelay activities, Saipem developed and installed, onboard Saipem 7000, two different but integrated systems respectively called DP/Pipe Integration system and Topas system. Both the integrated systems gave to the operators several data allowing them to optimize vessel position with respect to the touchdown point and lay corridor, minimizing pipe stress and avoiding any operation stop in case of ROV failure. DP/Pipe Integration System The DP/Pipe Integration system is able to control continuously the pipe safety, by integrating the measured ship position, the lay equipment parameters, the pipe characteristics and the sea bottom/lay corridor geometry. A three dimensional Finite Element mathematical model of ship, lay equipment, pipe and sea bottom provides an on-line calculation of the geometry of the pipe and of the loads and stresses acting on the pipe (Figure 18). In addition, this model gives to the operator the percentages (or risks) of the on-line calculated values with respect to their maximum allowable, even for positions of the ship around the measured one (Figure 19). Finally, the DP/Pipe Integration system sends to the vessel Dynamic Positioning system (DP) the horizontal force and the yawing moment acting on the ship, due to the pipe pull. This system is integrated with the acoustic touchdown monitoring system (Topas), in order to compare, validate and correct calculated data with the measured values. The system was widely utilized to perform safely weather waning of S7000 to avoid any risk of pipeline abandonment (Figure 20). Topas - Topographic Parametric Sonar The Topas Pipe Touchdown Monitoring System is acoustically able in full ocean depth range, to detect pipe anodes, the bottom topography and other strong acoustic targets. This gives to the system the ability to continuously monitor the pipe catenary shape, the bottom beneath the pipe and the touchdown point during pipe laying operations. The system mainly consists of one acoustic transmitter and three acoustic receivers installed under the keel of Saipem 7000, plus two Operator Station consoles installed on the bridge, showing on the first the pipe catenary and the

touchdown point, on the second the scanned bottom topography in a 3D display. In addition in the same 3D window are displayed the vessel, the pipe, the detected anodes, the defined lay corridor and the markers, if any, for guided laying at cable/pipe crossing location or any corridor critical area. The system is interfaced with the DP system and can be used as an emergency position reference system, monitoring the lowest pipe anodes and their relative movement in relation to the vessel. The system is integrated with the DP/Pipe for automatically direct the transmitter toward the pipe. State of the Art and Prospects The excellent performance reached during the Diana Project confirmed the intrinsic safety of the Saipem 7000 J-lay system and its capacity versus extreme environments. The challenge in the ultra deep water sector is met. The new state of the art emerging from actual exhaustive operations on the Blue Stream Project has opened new pipelaying feasibility prospects. Saipem 7000 system can lay very safely trunk lines down to 2200-m and more. The actual capacities of the system are very little affected by weather conditions and water depth, extreme as they can be. The consistent precision attainable is such as to allow to lay, even in ultra deep water, within a tolerance of less than 1 meter. The same accuracy can be met during lay down to position the pipe head. The success of the installation of the Export Lines for Girassol project provides solid grounds for future demands related to the installation of rigid risers connected to loading buoys also with the possible adoption of larger sizes. This will allow an expansion of such systems for the upcoming deepwater developments such as the Kizomba A field in Angola for Exxon-Mobil, where a similar concept has been selected for the 20-inches Oil Offloading Lines from the FPSO to the CALM buoy. The flexibility of J-lay will be exploited in the above mentioned project to fabricate directly on board the SaiBOS FDS the Single Line Offset Risers (SLOR), a revolutionary concept of riser conceived to minimize fatigue stresses in deep water systems. The installation of Canyon Express highlights the capacity of laying pipelines with the SaiBOS FDS in water depths in excess of 2200-m with welded in appurtenances such as sleds along the pipeline, to very tight tolerances in the final position. The J-lay installations performed have evidenced the capability of the system to perform laying also under significant weather conditions, and hence minimizing any requirement for contingency abandonment due to weather. This is achieved through a weather vaning of the vessel that maintains the pipeline inside the laying corridor and the stress well within allowable limits. The improved technologies selected and adopted for welding, NDT and field joint coating have resulted in a laying rate that is comparable with the latest generation multiple joints S-lay vessels. The adoption of a laying system based on friction (tensioners on S7000 and clamp on SaiBOS FDS) have demonstrated the

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suitability and the safety of the system itself in the laying in nearly vertical position also with significant axial loads. The Saipem Group has performed these tasks, investigating and designing new equipment and developing new technologies in order to complete the toughest subsea projects ever carried out, in water depths never reached before. Saipem capacity to operate in the engineering and services sector as General Contractor for Engineering, Procurement and Construction is of relevance while evaluating and planning future demanding projects. The combination of a powerful DP vessel and J-lay is crucial in meeting these challenges. The DP/Pipe Integration System and Topas have demonstrated their powerful in monitoring the pipeline configuration and stresses during laying also under severe storm condition and with the vessel in weather vaning position. The DP Pipe Integration System and Topas will be therefore implemented in future as a primarily monitoring system on the SaiBOS FDS. Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank Saipem group management for the opportunity to publish this article and in particular to Mr. Massimo Pulici and Mr. Ian Nash for their support in the preparation of this article. References
1 M.T.Lams J for Diana, ECOS 3/2000 2 S. Bianchi Pipelaying critical aspects in deep water and harsh environment, Italia 2000 Conference 1998 3 F. Piccio Laying in deep water: The case of Transmediterranean Project, OMAE 1994 4 M. Pulici, Construction Engineering for the Gibraltar Submarine Gas Pipeline, Gibraltar Submarine Gas Pipeline One Day Conference, Park Lane Hotel, London, 14.11.1995. 5 M. Pulici Saipem 7000: Laying System in Ultra-deep Water, Offshore Pipeline Technology, Oslo, 28-29.02.2000 6 N.K. Singh, R. Morgan Blue Stream Survey: Deepwater Challenge, Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 30.043.05.2001 7 K.Ardavanis, G. Chiesa Technical and Operational challenges in developing deepwater fields, Deep Offshore Technology, Rio de Janeiro, October 2001. 8 M. Pulici The Blue Stream Project: The Most Significant Deepwater Pipeline, Ultra Deep Engineering + Technology, Brest, 18-20.02.2002 9 S. Bianchi, M. Brambilla, M. Pulici The Blue Stream Experience, Offshore Pipeline Technology, Houston, 1617.09.20 10 P. Tricard, D. Hattet, R. Leijnse, D. Seng Girassol Export Lines, Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 6-9.05.2002

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Figure 4 Blue Stream Project Location Figure 1 Saipem 7000

Figure 5 Blue Stream Profile

Figure 2 Diana Hoover Location

Figure 6 Russian Slope West & East Routes

Figure 3 Diana Hoover Saipem 7000

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Figure 7 SaiBOS FDS

Figure 9 Girassol SaiBOS FDS Umbilicals Installation

Figure 8 Girassol Location

Figure 10 Girassol SaiBOS FDS Flowline Installation

Figure 11 Girassol Flowlines Configuration

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Figure 12 Canyon Express Location

Figure 14 Canyon Express SaiBOS FDS Sled Installation

Figure 13 Canyon Express SaiBOS FDS Sled Installation

Figure 15 S-Lay vs. J-lay

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2400 2200 2000 1800 1600 Water Depth [m]

EXXON, Hoover-Diana TOTALFINAELF,BP,Marathon, Canyon Express

[J] [J]

WATER DEPTH AND INSTALLATION METHOD

[J] [J]

BSPC, Bluestream

1400 1200 1000 800

[S] [S]
TMPC, Sicily Channel TMPC, Transmed

TOTALFINAELF, Girassol

Key: [S] S-lay [J] J-lay

600 400 200 0 1975

[S]
TMPC, Messina Strait

[S]

STATOIL, Troll Oljeoror

[S]
EMPL, Gibraltar

[S]

STATOIL, Zeepipe IIA

1980

1985

1990 Year

1995

2000

2005

Figure 16 Year of Laying versus Water Depth and Pipelaying Method

1400.0
[J]

1200.0

1000.0 Water Depth x Pipe Diameter

MEASURE OF DIFFICULTY OF DEEP WATER PIPELINE PROJECTS

BSPC, Bluestream (2150 m)

800.0 Key: [S] S-lay [J] J-lay 600.0

EXXON, Hoover-Diana (1463 m)

[J] [J]
TOTALFINAELF,BP,Marathon, Canyon Express (2230 m)

[J]
TOTALFINAELF, Girassol (1400 m)

400.0
[S]
TMPC, Sicily Channel (612 m)

[S]
TMPC, Transmed (612 m)

[S]
STATOIL, Zeepipe IIA (368 m)

200.0

[S]
TMPC, Messina Strait (350 m)

EMPL, Gibraltar (400 m) [S]

[S]
STATOIL, Troll Oljeoror (538 m)

0.0 1975

1980

1985

1990 Year

1995

2000

2005

Figure 17 Year of Laying versus Water Depth x Pipeline Diameter and Pipelaying Method

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Figure 20 DP-Pipe Risk Evaluation during Weather Vaning

Figure 18 DP-Pipe Measuring Locations

Figure 19 DP-Pipe Risk Evaluation during Laying