National Fire Protection Association 56 (PS) Changing the Way We Think and Operate


four compressor boosters and two 500 kVA gensets. The task was in preparation for a project to clean an 80 km (50 mile)-long 26 inch (66 cm) subsea gas pipeline.


When it commenced production of gas and oil in the latter half of 2011, the Norwegian BP Skarv project became one of BP and its partner’s most northerly offshore developments. Comprising a subsea system of 16 wells on five templates, the new development will feed gas to an 80-kilometre (50 mile) sub-sea spur line. This will link into Norway’s existing Aasgard pipeline, with the gas making its way to consumers in Germany.


Before it was commissioned, the pipeline underwent stringent pressure tests and cleaning, with the work carried out by offshore test specialists IKM Norway.


A key part of the process was to drive a train of six ‘pigs’ – pipeline inspection gauges – through the pipe. It was here that Atlas Copco Rental was called in. Its job was to provide the motive power to drive the pig train through the pipeline, using compressed nitrogen.


Inert nitrogen was chosen for this project over cheaper-to-produce compressed air, as it is safer and is proven to assist in the cleaning and pipeline inspection process. To add a twist to the rental project’s demands, IKM Norway required 95 %-pure compressed nitrogen to be produced in two separate volumes and at different pressures: 10,000 scfm (4,719 l/s) at 55 bar (g) (797.7 psi) and 8,500 scfm (4,011 l/s) at 130 bar (g) (1,885.5 psi). Precise pressure


control is vital, any fluctuations being liable to impact upon the speed and efficacy of the pig train.


From the outset, a key priority was safety. Dry-land testing enabled Atlas Copco Rental to check and recheck the complete equipment package. To ensure everything would run to plan, Atlas Copco engaged the services of its high-pressure nitrogen specialist to oversee the project.


Two personnel from BP and three from IKM also supervised the dry run of all the equipment, overseeing a key pre-commissioning test to ensure all the correct flow rates and pressures could be achieved and maintained.


Among the many interesting aspects of this particular project is that the pipeline itself has no access points along its subsea run. In more conventional pipe cleaning operations, the pig train can be driven through shorter sections of pipe, the equipment spread moving to access points along the pipe in stages. On this project, the entire pipe run was cleaned in one go.


Once the pipeline has been cleaned and inspected, floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) BP Skarv will manage the gas flow from the wells and direct it through the pipeline to the shore. Around 20 % of the yield from the wells will be oil. This will be collected from the floating hub of the system and temporarily stored on FPSO BP Skarv. Every 10 days or so, 875,000- barrel capacity shuttle tankers will collect the oil. n


Events Diary 7–9 February


Hydrocarbon Technology Congress 2012 Macau, China www.htcweb.org/


8–10 February


The Global LNG Forum 2012 Marseille, France


http://oilgas.flemingeurope.com/global- lng-forum


13–14 February


Optimising Oil & Gas Logistics Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates www.fleminggulf.com/oil-and-gas/middle- east/optimising-oil-and-gas-logistics-2012


16–17 February


Russian & CIS Executive Summit – Downstream Oil & Gas Dubai, United Arab Emirates www.europetro.com/en/summit2012


28–29 February


Security Conference & Exhibition Houston, Texas, US


http://npra.org/meetings/?fa=future#annual 5–8 March


LNG Supplies for Asian Markets 2012 Singapore


www.cconnection.org/conference/LMF/2011/ LNGAHome.html


21–22 February


LNG Shipping Conference 2012 London, UK


www.informaglobalevents.com/event/ LNG-Shipping-Conference


16–17 February


Platt’s 11th Liquid Natural Gas Conference Houston, Texas, US


www.platts.com/ConferenceDetail/2012/ pc215/index


11–13 March


National Petrochemical & Refiners Association San Diego, California


http://npra.org/meetings/?fa=future#annual 19–21 March


2nd Annual Global Refining Technology Forum Doha, Qatar


www.fleminggulf.com/oil-and-gas/middle-east/ 2nd-annual-global-refining-technology-forum


20–23 March


3rd Rio Gas Forum Rio de Janeiro, Brazil www.cwcriogas.com/


22–23 March


3rd Annual Unconventional Hydrocarbons Summit 2012 Beijing, China


www.cdmc.org.cn/uhs2012 Continued on page 74


HYDROCARBON WORLD – VOLUME 6 ISSUE 2


19


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