Requalification of pipelines for CO2 transport – giving new life to the Bayu-Undan and Reindeer pipelines
Nigel Lim A * , Bethwyn Green A and Zakery Thomson AA
Nigel Lim is a Senior Subsea and Pipeline Engineer working in the Santos Energy Solutions Division. He has 11 years in the energy industry, and has contributed to major greenfield and brownfield projects in Australia, Southeast Asia, Middle East and North Sea. Recently, he has been managing scopes associated with subsea and pipeline transport of carbon dioxide, which enable low carbon energy solutions. Within Santos, this includes Bayu-Undan CCS and Reindeer CCS and together with the Santos organisation, is recognised as an industry leader in the re-purposing of pipelines. He brings an approach of continuous improvement and agility to these low carbon energy projects and energy industry. Nigel graduated from the Curtin University with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering and First Class Honours. |
Bethwyn Green is the Project Manager for Santos’ Bayu-Undan CCS Project. Her background encompasses various roles in both operator and contractor organisations, project management and execution being a key area of expertise. With over 25 years of experience in the energy industry, Beth has an invaluable knowledge and understanding of maintenance and asset integrity which has been particularly valuable in the repurposing of existing infrastructure for the Bayu-Undan CCS Project. Beth has been an integral part of Santos since 2017, contributing to projects such as Bayu-Undan CCS, Dorado, and DLNG Life Extension. She holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Honours from the University of Western Australia. Beth’s practical approach and extensive industry knowledge continue to drive success in the ever-evolving energy sector. |
Zakery Thomson is the Project Manager for Santos’ Reindeer CCS Project. He is currently on readying Reindeer CCS for Execution by progressing FEED works and regulatory approvals. Zak’s last decade of work has focussed on progressing Australian offshore projects, notably Barossa. Prior to that he was based in Europe working a mixture of North Sea, Middle East and North African projects. In a career spanning over 20 years, Zak has worked for contractors, consultants and operators. He has spent the last 11 years at Santos primarily in offshore front end development management. Zak’s background is in process engineering in which he holds a Master’s from Newcastle University (UK). |
Abstract
Australia has in the order of 3500 km of offshore pipelines currently operating in Commonwealth waters which will require either re-use or decommissioning at the end of hydrocarbon service. Santos are currently developing the Bayu-Undan and Reindeer CCS (carbon, capture and storage) Projects, to make use of the depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs to store carbon dioxide (CO2) via existing offshore infrastructure. A key aspect of these projects is the requalification of existing offshore hydrocarbon pipelines to transport CO2, both of which have been in operation for 10–20 years. The Bayu-Undan and Reindeer pipelines were designed and operated for (a) distinctly different hydrocarbon services and (b) with no initial consideration for future CO2 service. This presents two unique technical starting points in the delivery of safe and robust conversion to CO2 service. Using knowledge gained from this, the paper provides an outline of the key technical considerations to requalification of pipelines unique to the combination of life extension and CO2 service. These are framed in the context of existing industry codes and technical challenges with CO2 pipelines. The outcomes are structured against typical phases in the project lifecycle and opportunities for optimisation of future CO2 re-purposing projects are proposed.
Keywords: capture, carbon, carbon dioxide, engineering, material, offshore, pipelines, requalification, safety, steel, storage, subsea.
Nigel Lim is a Senior Subsea and Pipeline Engineer working in the Santos Energy Solutions Division. He has 11 years in the energy industry, and has contributed to major greenfield and brownfield projects in Australia, Southeast Asia, Middle East and North Sea. Recently, he has been managing scopes associated with subsea and pipeline transport of carbon dioxide, which enable low carbon energy solutions. Within Santos, this includes Bayu-Undan CCS and Reindeer CCS and together with the Santos organisation, is recognised as an industry leader in the re-purposing of pipelines. He brings an approach of continuous improvement and agility to these low carbon energy projects and energy industry. Nigel graduated from the Curtin University with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering and First Class Honours. |
Bethwyn Green is the Project Manager for Santos’ Bayu-Undan CCS Project. Her background encompasses various roles in both operator and contractor organisations, project management and execution being a key area of expertise. With over 25 years of experience in the energy industry, Beth has an invaluable knowledge and understanding of maintenance and asset integrity which has been particularly valuable in the repurposing of existing infrastructure for the Bayu-Undan CCS Project. Beth has been an integral part of Santos since 2017, contributing to projects such as Bayu-Undan CCS, Dorado, and DLNG Life Extension. She holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Honours from the University of Western Australia. Beth’s practical approach and extensive industry knowledge continue to drive success in the ever-evolving energy sector. |
Zakery Thomson is the Project Manager for Santos’ Reindeer CCS Project. He is currently on readying Reindeer CCS for Execution by progressing FEED works and regulatory approvals. Zak’s last decade of work has focussed on progressing Australian offshore projects, notably Barossa. Prior to that he was based in Europe working a mixture of North Sea, Middle East and North African projects. In a career spanning over 20 years, Zak has worked for contractors, consultants and operators. He has spent the last 11 years at Santos primarily in offshore front end development management. Zak’s background is in process engineering in which he holds a Master’s from Newcastle University (UK). |
