How the Ormen Lange gas pipeline was engineered
The construction of an offshore gas pipeline in the North Sea.
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Transcript
Norway, 1997 - while looking for new sources of oil and gas, geologists discovered promising undersea structures off the coast of Kristiansund. It turned out to be an enormous gas field, Ormen Lange. The field is 3,000 meters beneath sea level and 2,000 meters below the seabed. Extracting the gas and transporting it 1,200 kilometers from Nyhamna in Norway to Easington in England has created one of the largest engineering projects in recent times.
Before the gas can be sent along the pipeline to England, it has to be extracted from its deep-sea location and processed on the Norwegian mainland. The pipeline from the field to Nyhamna is approximately 100 kilometers long. Here, the gas is compressed so that it takes up less space and is, therefore, more cost effective. The method of extraction used on the Ormen Lange gas field is different from that employed in other offshore gas and oil fields. There is no rig. The gas is extracted directly from beneath the seabed for economic reasons.
Building an offshore pipeline 1,200 kilometers long is no easy task. It's always a special moment when the first length of pipe is laid. Special pipe lay barges, such as the Solitaire, act like floating factories. Supply ships are continually bringing the barges new pipes. And laying pipelines is, by nature, a non-stop operation. The specially-designed cranes on board the Solitaire are capable of lifting 65 tons.
Inside the belly of the ship, the processes followed are similar to those of a mass production car assembly plant. Pipe after pipe is lowered into the ship and prepared for laying. Workers weld the pipes together. The whole process takes just a matter of minutes. The pipes are welded from the inside and the outside simultaneously. There are seven such welding stations on board, ensuring a fairly rapid rate of work.
A conveyor belt transports the pipe onto its next stop. Here, the welding seams are cooled before workers deploy an ultrasound machine, which automatically checks for any possible cracks or faulty seals. A sort of protective coat is applied to the seams to seal them before the pipe makes its way to the final control point. Here, a second protective layer is applied to the welding seams and the pipe slips effortlessly into the depths of the North Sea where it will remain for eternity.
It takes just three minutes for a new pipe to sink to the seabed. The Solitaire can generally lay five kilometers of new pipeline each day. Their record is nine kilometers. Laying pipelines is a precision job. A satellite-controlled positioning system ensures that the pipes don't miss their destination.
The Ormen Lange field was opened for business in October 2007. The 1,200-kilometer pipeline that stretches from Norway to England used 100,000 lengths of steel pipe weighing a total of one million tons.
Before the gas can be sent along the pipeline to England, it has to be extracted from its deep-sea location and processed on the Norwegian mainland. The pipeline from the field to Nyhamna is approximately 100 kilometers long. Here, the gas is compressed so that it takes up less space and is, therefore, more cost effective. The method of extraction used on the Ormen Lange gas field is different from that employed in other offshore gas and oil fields. There is no rig. The gas is extracted directly from beneath the seabed for economic reasons.
Building an offshore pipeline 1,200 kilometers long is no easy task. It's always a special moment when the first length of pipe is laid. Special pipe lay barges, such as the Solitaire, act like floating factories. Supply ships are continually bringing the barges new pipes. And laying pipelines is, by nature, a non-stop operation. The specially-designed cranes on board the Solitaire are capable of lifting 65 tons.
Inside the belly of the ship, the processes followed are similar to those of a mass production car assembly plant. Pipe after pipe is lowered into the ship and prepared for laying. Workers weld the pipes together. The whole process takes just a matter of minutes. The pipes are welded from the inside and the outside simultaneously. There are seven such welding stations on board, ensuring a fairly rapid rate of work.
A conveyor belt transports the pipe onto its next stop. Here, the welding seams are cooled before workers deploy an ultrasound machine, which automatically checks for any possible cracks or faulty seals. A sort of protective coat is applied to the seams to seal them before the pipe makes its way to the final control point. Here, a second protective layer is applied to the welding seams and the pipe slips effortlessly into the depths of the North Sea where it will remain for eternity.
It takes just three minutes for a new pipe to sink to the seabed. The Solitaire can generally lay five kilometers of new pipeline each day. Their record is nine kilometers. Laying pipelines is a precision job. A satellite-controlled positioning system ensures that the pipes don't miss their destination.
The Ormen Lange field was opened for business in October 2007. The 1,200-kilometer pipeline that stretches from Norway to England used 100,000 lengths of steel pipe weighing a total of one million tons.