ITF, the global technology facilitator, together with subsea and pipeline engineering and project management company Subsea Engineering Associates (SEA) of Perth, Western Australia, have launched a joint industry project (JIP) that will explore and demonstrate a new approach to assessing pipeline span issues.
Phase I of the JIP is expected to run for six months and cost in the region of $236,000 (250,000A$) and involve four regional oil and gas operators.
Due to an uneven seabed, tidal currents or scouring, some pipelines may develop free spans. A free span on a pipeline is where it loses seabed support.
The aim of the JIP is to demonstrate that the creation of an enhanced partial safety approach with the delivery of more accurate data may negate the need for often unnecessary and costly intervention.
The project will then focus on developing a methodology to demonstrate a ‘do-nothing’ approach to mobile free spans that will meet the failure probability required by DNV-OS-F101.