Out of sight out of mind – subsea pipeline decommissioning
Eric Jas A C , Allison Selman A and Valerie Linton BA Atteris Pty Ltd, Level 3, 220 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.
B EIS Faculty, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: eric.jas@atteris.com.au
The APPEA Journal 57(1) 79-87 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ16215
Accepted: 17 March 2017 Published: 29 May 2017
Abstract
Existing legislation, regulation and documentation dealing with decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure has traditionally been derived from experience gained in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The Australian operating environments are very different and, consequently, there is no Australian industry-wide engineering standard dedicated to the decommissioning of offshore pipelines. Decommissioning of Australian offshore pipelines is currently handled on a case-by-case basis. The efficiency and effectiveness of any given decommissioning project is variable, and highly dependent upon the experience of the pipeline operator. Given the maturity stage of the Australian offshore oil and gas industry, it is foreseen that in the coming years many operators will approach the task of decommissioning offshore pipelines for the first time.
In 2014 the Energy Pipelines Cooperative Research Centre (EPCRC) formed an offshore users group, comprising pipeline experts from several offshore oil and gas operators and engineering consultancies that are members of the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association’s Research and Standards Committee (APGA RSC). This group is developing an engineering guideline for the decommissioning of offshore pipelines. It is being developed in close communication with the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), which has formed a decommissioning committee in relation to offshore facilities. This ensures the guideline is being developed by and with input from a broad spectrum of the Australian offshore oil and gas industry, with the aim of capturing best practice in the Australian context.
Keywords: abandonment, ALARP, engineering guideline, environment, offshore pipelines, risk assessment, submarine, subsea, suspension.
Eric Jas is a civil engineer with 30 years’ experience in the subsea and pipeline industries. He is a FIEAust and CPEng with Engineers Australia and is currently the chair of Standards Australia’s ME-038–4 Subcommittee for Submarine Pipeline Systems. His geographical experience covers Australia, New Zeeland, Asia, Europe and North America. Eric founded Atteris Pty Ltd in 1999, an engineering company which provides engineering services predominantly to the subsea and pipeline industries, where he is the Managing Director. Besides leading the business and managing engineering projects, Eric has been the initiator and project manager for several innovations and RandD programs in the subsea pipeline industry, including the development of improved pipeline on-bottom stability design methodologies, pipeline secondary stabilisation designs, pipeline external impact protection designs, and pipeline shoreline and waterway crossing methods based on horizontal directional drilling and tunnelling. |
Allison Selman is a Director of Atteris and has been the Business Manager for Asset and Integrity Management engineering services since 2013. She has a BEng in Materials Engineering and a BComm in Management and Marketing. She is a FIEAust and CPEng with Engineers Australia; as well as a RPEQ with the BPEQ. Allison helped to deliver the Offshore Pipeline Engineering Competency Framework for the Australian industry, established the Women in Subsea Engineering (WISE), and is a Board Member of the SEA and an active member of SUT, EA, EPCRC and APGA RSC. |
Professor Valerie Linton is a metallurgist with 25 years’ experience in the pipeline industry in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. She currently is a professor at the University of Wollongong, after seven years as the inaugural CEO of the Energy Pipelines Cooperative Research Centre. She has previously led pipeline research as a professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide, worked as a welding consultant for MPT and was a pipeline welding engineer for British Gas. Valerie’s specific expertise includes steel metallurgy and welding, along with strategic planning, business development and research management. Valerie has a BEng from Sheffield University, a PhD from Cambridge University and an MBA from LaTrobe University. She is a fellow of Engineers Australia, a Certified Materials Professional and a graduate of the AICD. |
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