150 Bar Gas Pipeline

[bandraoi]

Maybe you people can help a little.

There is a case here in Ireland where some farmers are protesting that a gas pipeline is coming too close to their house.

It's a 150bar pipeline carrying dirty gas direct from the gas field to the refinery.

It's designed to 345bar, it'll be buried at least 1.2m, steel with concrete protective coating, internal and external corrosion.

Can anybody offer any insight or comment?

 

[SJones]

Well, I guess, here you will have the classic example of engineers trying to win over an (understandably so) emotional public with equations, QRAs, safety factors, reliability, failure rates, etc etc. If the gas contains H2S, I wouldn't be too keen on it either; but, if the pipeline operator could demonstrate that my property was in a low risk contour, that they had a proper inspection and maintenance programme, that utility companies or builders wouldn't want to come digging in the vicinity of the pipeline, and, naturally, the pipeline operator put an acceptable amount of cash my way to account for any negative impact on property price, then I would give it proper consideration (from an engineering perspective of course).

Why is an onshore gas pipeline concrete coated by the way?

Steve Jones
Materials & Corrosion Engineer

http://www.pdo.co.om/pdo/

 

[bandraoi]

It's dirty gas so that might be the reason it's concrete coated? I think at it's closest it's 20m from somebodies house. It's in a very remote area.

I don't know too much about the case or gas pipe lines generally to be honest.

http://risingtide.org.uk/node/29

would be a residents point of view site

and

http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=ie-en

is the company website

 

[SJones]

Guessed it might be that project. I'd best stay out of the discussion as an employee! I will just say that the concrete coating will be on the offshore section, principally to make the pipeline negatively buoyant. It shouldn't need concrete coating beyond landfall. Hmmm - 20 m is a bit close. I'd be pretty twitchy too - can't blame the farmers.

Steve Jones
Materials & Corrosion Engineer

http://www.pdo.co.om/pdo/

 

[SJones]

Incidentally, Shell state 70 m from the nearest house on that web site.

Steve Jones
Materials & Corrosion Engineer

http://www.pdo.co.om/pdo/

 

[bandraoi]

I'll have to check what the media are saying again, I'm fairly sure I heard 20m. The media are also saying a 345 bar pipeline, but the 345 bar is the design level, not the operating level.

70m would sound alot better.

 

[DrillerNic]

I immediately guessed it was Corrib too! Geez, Shell are facing an uphill battle- you could almost believe the Irish have enough gas of their own and don't need to develop the Corrib field at all!

Considering the number of high pressure transmission lines that run through the UK, I don't think there's much concern- one ran through the car park at one the offices I worked in my first time in Aberdeen- big signs with energency telephone numbers next to the road. It wasn't odourised either.

And I don't think the gas in the 150bar Interconnector 1 or Interconnector 2 pipeline, which run onshore to the North of Dublin (Interconnector 1 since 1993 without mishap) is odourised either.

It looks to me like the standard "we're going to protest becasue it's the oil industry, it's Shell, it's globallisation .....".

 

[SJones]

http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrht...uZ292LnVrL3Jlc2VhcmNoL3JyaHRtLzEtMTAwLmh0bQ==

http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrht...uZ292LnVrL3Jlc2VhcmNoL3JyaHRtLzEtMTAwLmh0bQ==

http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrht...uZ292LnVrL3Jlc2VhcmNoL3JyaHRtLzEwMS0yMDAuaHRt

http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/crr_htm/2001/crr01372.htm

Steve Jones
Materials & Corrosion Engineer

http://www.pdo.co.om/pdo/

 

[SJones]

Anyone fancy a Brent Spar replay?

Steve Jones
Materials & Corrosion Engineer

http://www.pdo.co.om/pdo/

 

[bandraoi]

Any more details on those other interconnectors with Scotland would be appreciated.