TDW Offshore Services Completes Pipeline Pressure Isolation Operation for Sarawak Shell Berhad
Posted on
5/7/2010
Isolation of Export Line Facilitates Valve Installation in South China Sea, Malaysia
STAVANGER, Norway – May 7, 2010 – TDW Offshore Services AS (TDW) announced that it has successfully completed a key pipeline pressure isolation and joint testing operation offshore western Borneo in Malaysia for Sarawak Shell Berhad.
TDW worked on platform F23P-A, which is part of the facilities operated by Sarawak Shell Berhad located 80 to 200 km from Miri and Bintulu. The operation was carried out on a gas export line that forms a portion of the line that runs from the F23P-A to the E11R-A platform. The network extends to one of the major trunklines connected to an LNG plant onshore in Bintulu. The TDW operation made it possible for Shell to install a motor-operated valve (MOV) in preparation for installation of a new compressor module.
TDW used its SmartPlug® isolation tool to isolate the section of the line that required a new valve. In order to provide a safe isolation while the line was cut and the new valve was installed, TDW “pigged in” a 30-inch SmartPlug® isolation tool from the launcher past the site designated for valve installation. By doing so, the line was safely isolated in preparation for cutting the line and valve installation. While the line was isolated, the line was successfully cut, and a new flange was welded to it.
To ensure that the flange was properly installed without pressurizing the entire line, TDW tested the weld with a joint tester tool. Following testing of the weld, the new valve was installed. Overall, the affected portion of the gas export line was safely isolated for a period of one month while testing and valve installation took place.
TDW carried out the recent operation with a SmartPlug® tool and joint tester that the company built at its headquarters in Stavanger, with local support from personnel based in Singapore and its agent in Malaysia, Amserve Engineering.
Technology Reduces Costs, Enhances Safety
“Had they not retained TDW to use its SmartPlug® isolation tool to create a double-block on the line, Shell would have been faced with the costly expense of bleeding down the affected line to isolate the affected area from hydrocarbons,” said Rutger Schouten, Director of Operations and Technology, TDW. “I am pleased to report that the isolation operation and joint testing were carried out as planned, enabling Shell to cut the line and install the new valve, confident in the knowledge that personnel would be safe and that the job would be completed on schedule,” he added.
The recent isolation operation on the F23P-A was carried out in association with the three-year frame agreement that TDW entered into with Sarawak Shell Berhad to provide pipeline pressure isolation services and hot tapping services, as well as a subsea repair clamp in 2009.
Since 2001, TDW has performed a number of pipeline pressure isolation operations to facilitate safe valve replacement on behalf of Sarawak Shell Berhad in the region.
The Sarawak Shell Berhad facilities include the M3, B11, E11 RB, F23 and F6 platforms. Natural gas is transported through four major trunk lines of the pipeline network to an onshore processing plant in Bintulu.
About TDW Offshore Services
TDW Offshore Services provide customers with the products and services they need to construct and maintain pipelines. The company’s world-class engineering capability has resulted in numerous innovative products and services. TDW Offshore Services has an engineering staff that excels in customized design and fabrication of a wide range of repair clamps installable by remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The SmartPlug® tool from TDW Offshore Services is the world’s leading pipeline pressure isolation technology.
The company is a subsidiary of T.D. Williamson, Inc. The world’s leader in pipeline equipment and services, T.D. Williamson delivers a comprehensive portfolio of safe integrity pipeline system solutions for onshore and offshore applications, including hot tapping & plugging, pipeline cleaning, geometry & MFL inspection, pigging and non-tethered plugging pig technology for any pressurized piping system, anywhere in the world.
Note to editors:
To receive photos of the 30-inch SmartPlug® pipeline isolation operation recently carried out by TDW for Sarawak Shell Berhad on the F23P-A to facilitate replacement of valves, please contact Sharon Roe below.
For further information, contact:
Rutger Schouten, Director of Operations and Technology
TDW Offshore Services, Stavanger, Norway
Phone: +31 62 63 86 866, Email: rutger.schouten@tdwilliamson.com
Rolf Gunnar Lie, Regional Business Development Manager
TDW Offshore Services, Singapore
Phone: +65 9651 3837, Email: rolf.gunnar.lie@tdwilliamson.com
Sharon Roe, Spinnaker Communications, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 1334 473 754, Email: Sharon.roe@tesco.net