Sequential piggyback, dual lay used for Irish Sea pipelines
- McDermott-ETPM West Inc., Nanterre (France)
Piggyback and dual pipe lay were used sequentially for the first time in 1993 aboard the lay vessel DLB 1601 in the North Morecambe project, Block 110/2a of the Irish Sea. Development was by British Gas Exploration and Production Ltd. A 3-in. OD pipeline was laid piggybacked onto a 36-in. pipeline for the offshore pull operation and then separated in an unconventional transition operation for dual lay for the offshore section. Detailed engineering studies along with well developed installation procedures resulted in successful pipelaying. Increasing complexities of laying, trenching, and burying offshore pipelines suggest the techniques used in the North Morecambe project will find further applications. In fact, McDermott International Inc.-ETPM Services (U.K.) Ltd. (MET), which executed the North Morecambe project, developed the techniques further in 1994 for the Liverpool Bay development of Hamilton Oil Co. In that project, DLB 1601 laid in dual lay tow 3-in. pipelines in a bundle with a 20-in. pipeline. This first of two articles on the North Morecambe project discusses its background an engineering, primarily for the piggyback and dual lay phases. The conclusion covers the innovative transition operation and reports shore-testing results and observations.
- OSTI ID:
- 99292
- Journal Information:
- Oil and Gas Journal, Vol. 93, Issue 36; Other Information: PBD: 4 Sep 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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