Submarine pipelines

Planning, design and construction methodology and supervision for nearshore submarine pipelines.

PRDW has been responsible for a number of submarine pipeline projects, including site selection, concept design, feasibility studies, detail engineering, construction and post-construction monitoring.

Typically, PRDW would also take responsibility for the design and/or specification of the other offshore components of the pipeline system, including:

• Intake/outfall structure
• Diffuser
• PLEM and subsea hose configuration
• Buoy mooring facility (e.g. SPM or CBM)

PRDW’s extensive engineering experience in the coastal zone, including extreme environmental conditions such as cyclones and tsunamis, is employed to provide input to the pipeline design.

Depending on the application, pipeline design would generally include the following:

• Determination of environmental conditions for construction, operational and extreme event scenarios
• Hydraulic analysis (sea water intakes and outfalls)
• Diffuser dispersion modelling (outfalls)
• Hydrodynamics around pipeline
• Trenching and burying / pipeline protection
• On-bottom stability and concrete weight collars
• Corrosion prevention
• Route optimization and shore crossing
• Tie-ins

Key aspects that taken into consideration in pipeline design include:

• Offshore installation methodology
• Environmental impacts due to construction
• System commissioning
• Construction risk assessment and mitigation
• System operations and maintenance requirements

PRDW has wide ranging global experience in the design of submarine pipelines for a number of applications including:

Sea water intake pipelines:

• Desalination
• Aquaculture
• Power stations (cooling water)

Outfall pipelines:

• Sewage/effluent
• Brine
• Deep-sea tailings

Oil and gas pipelines:

• Crude oil
• Condensate
• LPG