Primus Line’s flexible pipeline system is a leading rehabilitation method for many applications, including pipelines in industrial harbours.
Across industrial harbours, offloading pipelines are used to unload refined products such as diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, unleaded petrol and crude oil to tanks or refineries.
Discharge pipelines, multi-buoy facilities, offshore docking stations and multi-purpose pipes are just some examples of pipelines used as part of this process.
When it comes to rehabilitation, these pipelines cannot be shut down for long periods of time, as transporting vessels often cannot be rescheduled. This means safety and flexibility must be considered to ensure efficient rehabilitation.
Primus Line’s flexible pipeline system can serve the rehabilitation of pressure pipes, while also functioning as a flexible stand-alone above-ground pipeline.
The self-supporting system can be installed around bends up to 45 degrees and more, and the fact it is not attached to the host pipe means it carries all internal pressure and only requires the host pipe to carry the external loads. In addition, minimal machinery is required for installation.
A-NZ Heiko Manzke.
“For over 25 years, Primus Line has extensive experience in pipeline rehabilitation, particularly in the oil and gas industry,” Primus Line Director A-NZ Heiko Manzke said.
“This technology has been tested and trialled and it shows the bandwidth of what we do at Primus Line.”
The versatility of the system allows for multiple applications across different needs.
“For example, we rehabilitate a 20m water pipe crossing under a highway for a local utility, but renew a high-pressure and high-risk diesel main for an international oil company as well.” Manzke said. “Primus Line manages this all with the same core technology.”
The flexible pipeline system has been tested in terms of product longevity, pressure cycles, negative pressure, abrasion resistance, aso.
“Everything we say is backed up by certificates and even independent laboratories performing those tests,” Manzke said. “It’s something we stand out with in terms of all of the data, tests and certificates we can provide to our clients.”
Primus Line is also confident enough to reject projects if their flexible system is not suitable for the intended purpose.
The company’s flexible pipeline system has been used in a number of different projects.
Diesel pipeline renovation in Italy
A renowned oil producer in southern Italy determined a sea line pipeline needed to be renovated to increase its longevity. Since it runs 15m underwater, it is consistently exposed to salt water, accelerating the corrosion process.
The pipeline operator needed a solution that required minimal equipment and provided results quickly. They opted for a Primus Line DN 250 with a nominal design pressure of 19 bar.
Trained divers installed the insertion rollers and rope protection unit to protect the Primus Line system during the insertion process.
The flexible pipeline comes on site coiled on a transport spool. This spool was placed on a floating platform and got installed offshore to onshore by an experienced diving crew, as the starting point of the existing pipeline was several meters offshore in the Mediterranean Sea.
The insertion of the flexible Primus Line system was completed in just three hours.
Singapore refinery
When a DN 400 sub-sea steel pipe was inspected in Singapore in 2011, it was found that the host pipe had a remaining thickness of 1.7mm, and it was consequently removed from service later that year.
As the pipeline did not have any inside coating and had been filled with nitrogen from 2011 up until rehabilitation, there were no leaks. This led to the operator looking for an efficient solution to rehabilitate the pipeline. Enter Primus Line.
As the pipeline runs sub-sea and interconnects two sides of a harbour, the project presented significant challenges for the Primus Line team. But given the flexible Primus Line pipeline system has a small footprint and short installation time, it proved to be the right system for the client.
UK jetty pipeline
The Primus Line team delivered a successful project at a refinery’s wharf along the coast of Wales.
The steel pipeline that needed rehabilitation was installed in parallel to the wharf, which meant installing a new layer of the steel pipeline was not possible.
Once the pipe had been cleaned by high-pressure water jetting, the flexible Primus Line pipeline system was installed in two sections.
With the reintegration of the renewed sections into the existing pipeline network, the rehabilitation works of the pipeline were completed successfully.
This article featured in the September edition of The Australian Pipeliner.
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