key projects

Utah to Nevada Pipeline

Holly Corporation and Sinclair Transportation are developing the Utah to Nevada Pipeline to bring refined petroleum products to meet the energy needs of southern Nevada and southern Utah. Construction on the pipeline has commenced after the US Bureau of Land Management gave its final approval for the project on 16 April 2010.
he Utah to Nevada (UNEV) Pipeline is a 653 km, 12 inch diameter buried pipeline that will transport refined petroleum product from refineries in north Salt Lake City, to a distribution terminal in Iron County, Utah, and a terminal in north Las Vegas. The pipeline will initially have the capacity to carry approximately 62,000 bbl/d of petroleum products, with a final capacity of 118,000 bbl/d. Holly Corporation will own a 75 per cent interest and Sinclair Transportation will own a 25 per cent interest in the joint venture company UNEV Pipeline LLC. As the majority shareholder, Holly is leading the construction process of the project and will operate the pipeline once completed. Construction of the pipeline is expected to be completed in early 2011, with service to begin later in 2011. Construction of pipeline terminals at Cedar City and Las Vegas is nearing completion.

mainline at the 7.2 km point. An 8 inch diameter lateral pipeline will extend approximately 16 km from the mainline at the 412 km point to the Cedar City Terminal. The proposed pipeline will be available to accept shipments of refined products from multiple refineries in the Salt Lake City area, as well as in Wyoming and Montana. The pipeline will be constructed within a 23 m right-of-way (RoW), while a 15 m RoW is to be maintained once the pipeline has commenced operation.

Pipe specifications
The first 43 km of the pipeline will have a wall thickness of between 0.375 and 0.500 inches (10 and 13 mm). After that point, pipe with a wall thickness of 0.219 inches (5.5 mm) is to be installed. Heavier wall pipe will be used at select crossings and sensitive areas. The maximum operating pressure of the pipeline is to be 1,480 pounds per square inch (10,204 kilopascals). The 12 m and 18 m lengths of pipe will be delivered to site via

Pipeline route
The pipeline will transport refined liquid petroleum products such as multiple grades of gasoline and diesel fuel 653 km from a cluster of five refineries in the north Salt Lake City area to the Apex Industrial Park northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The project will include an inlet pumping station at its origin in Salt Lake City; a pressure reduction station at a lateral terminal northwest of Cedar City, Utah; a pressure reduction site at the 572 km point; and, a receiving terminal near Las Vegas. In Utah, the pipeline will originate in Davis County and cross Salt Lake, Tooele, Juab, Millard, Beaver, Iron, and Washington counties. In Nevada, the pipeline will cross Lincoln County and terminate in Clark County. The southern third of the proposed pipeline route will run adjacent two natural gas pipelines owned by Kern River Gas Transmission Company. A 10 inch diameter lateral service pipeline will extend approximately 4 km to the Salt Lake International Airport from the

Pipe onsite ready to be laid. Image courtesy of UNEV Pipeline LLC.

Timeline of the UNEV Pipeline project. Image courtesy of UNEV Pipeline LLC.

Pipelines International digest | AUGUST 2010

key projects

rail from the pipe mill to temporary pipe yards where the pipe will be stored prior to transport to the project area by truck. The pipe will be externally coated with fusion bonded epoxy. During construction, each weld will be x-rayed, and before going into service, the entire pipeline will be pressured tested with water at a pressure that is at least 125 per cent of the maximum operating pressure. The pipeline will be buried between 1.5 and 2 m, using conventional trenching methods. Bedrock is anticipated to be encountered in areas of shallow soils, and where conventional equipment cannot excavate the trench, blasting will be used. In addition, horizontal directional drilling or boring will be used for some road and waterway crossings. Once the pipeline has been installed, surface and aerial patrols will be made at least 26 times a year. These patrols will monitor for any third-party encroachment, RoW condition and the condition of the line markers and above-ground valves.

will include construction and equipment storage yards, extra workspace for pipe stringing, and additional construction access roads. The north Salt Lake Pump Station has been constructed; however there is still some work being completed so that it is ready for start-up, expected to be in August 2010. The pump station will receive product from all the shippers at a low pressure and increase the pressure for onwards transmission. The pump station also includes a smart pig launcher and receiver. There is the possibility that an additional pump station located somewhere along the alignment in Millard County would be needed in the future if UNEV seeks to increase capacity.

Construction team
Multiple spreads are currently under construction. The total workforce is approximately 350400 workers, although not all workers are on the project at the same time. An estimate of the manpower and equipment required for a given spread the various construction activities provided by UNEV Pipeline LLC to the Utah Bureau of Land Management is included below.

Associated facilities
UNEV Pipeline LLC says that permanent facilities will include access roads to all above-ground structures (including valves, launchers, and receiving equipment). Temporary facilities

Equipment
1 pickup 1 dozer 1 pickup 1 trencher 1 backhoe 1 dozer with ripper 1 trencher 4 labourers

Personnel
Grading 1 foreman 2 dozer operators Excavation (normal terrain) 1 foreman 1 operator 1 backhoe operator 1 dozer operator 1 operator Pipe crew

Equipment
1 pickup 3 sidebooms 3 cradles 2 welding rigs 1 water pump 1 holiday detector 1 pickup 1 crew cab 1 dozer 1 backhoe 1 backfiller/front-end loader 2 pickups 1 farm tractor 1 dozer 1 loader

Personnel
Lowering 1 foreman 3 sideboom operators 2 welders 2 assistants 1 oiler 5 labourers Backfilling 1 foreman 1 backfill operator 1 dozer operator 1 backhoe operator 1 oiler, 2 labourers 1 foreman 1 dozer operator 1 loader operator 2 drivers 6 laborers Hydrostatic testing Clean-up and restoration

1 welding rig 6 welding rigs 1 crew cab 3 sidebooms 1 tow tractor 3 pick-ups 2 flatbed trucks 1 internal line-up clamp 2 welding rigs 2 welding rigs 3 sidebooms 1 bending machine 2 pickups 2 crew cabs 1 backhoe

1 foreman 6 welders 6 welders aids 4 assistants 3 sideboom operators 3 wrappers 1 truck driver 4 labourers 2 foremen 2 welders 3 operators 1 operator 1 bending engineer 4 assistants 1 operator Tie-in/bending crew

1 pickup 1 test trailer/truck 2 air compressors 1 pump 1 fill unit 1 water filter

1 foreman 1 sideboom operator 1 pump operator 1 hydrotest technician 1 driver 4 labourers

Pipelines International digest | AUGUST 2010