UNIT-3

(Construction Of pipelines): Introduction, Onshore & Offshore pipeline Construction.

Commissioning of pipeline.

Unit 3.1 Construction of pipelines-(ONSHORE)

1. INTRODUCTION
Generally pipelines are built by construction contractors rather than by the oil companies that normally
own and operate pipeline systems. The need for highly trained specialized personnel and the expense of
pipeline equipment makes this approach the most cost effective.

Pipeline construction methods depend mostly on terrain, geographical location and environment. Pipeline
construction is generally classified into two broad categories: onshore construction and offshore
construction.

2 Onshore construction (Right-of-way clearing, Top soil stripping, Trenching and rock blasting,
Pipe stringing and bending, Welding and inspection, Coating , Lowering-in , Backfilling , Special
construction, Testing.

Conventional onshore pipeline construction follows a series of activities in a sequential manner. They
begin with clearing the right-of-way and end with hydrostatic testing. These activities may be carried out
by a single contractor or by several sub contractors. This section briefly describes these activities with the
help of graphic illustrations. This section briefly describes these activities with the help of graphic
illustrations. The activities usually include:

a) Right-of-way clearing

b) Top soil stripping

c) Trenching and rock blasting

d) Pipe stringing and bending

e) Welding and inspection

f) Coating

g) Lowering-in

h) Backfilling

i) Special construction

j) Testing.
 a. Clearing the Right-of-way

The first activity in pipeline construction is the right-of-way clearing. Legal rights to the right-of-way
must be obtained before construction crews can enter the right-of-way to begin construction. Usually a
long-term lease or permanent easement is acquired. The selected route centerline is staked and the right-
of-way extremities are marked

The strip of land along the pipeline route, where construction operations are performed and the pipeline is
allowed to remain is called right-of-way (ROW). Right-of-way agreement also permits free and
uninterrupted access to the pipeline for regular maintenance, repairs or periodic inspection during the
operating life of the pipeline.

The required width of the right-of-way depends on the terrain, pipe diameter and construction method
used. Typically 20 to 30 meters in width is sufficient for construction purposes. The pipeline itself
occupies only a small portion of the right-of-way; however, adequate space is required on either side of
the ditch to allow safe and easy movement of equipment and construction crew and for the excavated
spoil. Often the agreed width of the right-of-way agreement for construction is wider than for ultimate
pipeline operation. Figure 1 shows a typical right-of-way cross section.

Figure 1
The right-of-way is transformed into a suitable work area by clearing all above-ground vegetation such as
trees, brush, stumps, crops, boulders and fences with the help of bulldozers

The amount of clearing required depends on the terrain and the method of construction, but should
provide safe movement as well as easy access. Good environmental practices must be followed
throughout construction and site remediation phases.

b. Stripping of Top Soil

In most cases, especially for agricultural land, topsoil is removed from the right-of-way working strip and
stored separately prior to grading or trenching. Topsoil salvage is normally carried out with a motor
grader on the first lift and is windrowed or piled separately, often on one side of the right of way with
grade soil on the other to avoid mixing.

The strip is then graded and leveled to provide a smooth, even work area. This facilitates movement of
construction vehicles and equipment and permits placement of the pipeline along the right-of-way.

c. Trenching and Rock Blasting

Pipelines are normally buried in a ditch or trench. In soft soil ditching is performed with a "wheel
ditcher," a machine having a large wheel with cutting teeth. The excavated soil is neatly piled to the side
of the ditch to facilitate rapid backfilling after the pipe is laid. See Figure 2 . In areas, where, soil
conditions make the trench unstable, trenching may be delayed until the pipe section is ready to be
lowered so that the time the trench is open is kept to a minimum.

Figure 2

In hard soil or loose rock, ditching is normally done by a backhoe. In rocky terrain, ground blasting using
explosives may be necessary. See Figure 3 . Where blasting is required, this must be carried out before
stringing the pipe to avoid damage to pipe coating.
Figure 3

Trench dimensions vary with pipe size, the nature of the terrain, applicable regulations and other factors.
However, the ditch should be wide enough to permit the pipeline to be lowered without the use of external
force and for backfill to settle easily around the lower part of the pipe. The ditch should be deep enough
to avoid later contact of the pipeline, typically below plow, frost and other utility depths. See Figure 4 for
trench dimensions and Figure 5 for trench configuration.

Figure 4
Figure 5

d. Stringing and Bending

Line pipe is ordered from the mill, transported to the coating yard for coating and then delivered to a
storage location near the construction site. Delivering and aligning the pipe joints along the pipeline route
is called pipe stringing. See Figure 6 . As the schedule requires, pipe is delivered to the right-of-way on
trucks, lifted carefully, and placed along the side of the trench ready to be welded and tested before being
lowered into the ditch.
Figure 6

The Pipeline route is not straight, nor is the terrain flat. For these reasons the pipeline must be bent in the
field to fit the three dimensional profile of the ditch. Pipe joints are bent prior to welding.

Most required bends are made by cold bending, using a bending machine, at the job site. See Figure 7 .

Figure 7
Bending machine at the job site can only make gradual bends usually down to 40D radius. When a sharp
or small radius bend is required, it is usually pre-fabricated. All bends should comply with the minimum
requirements of ANSI B31.4/B31.8 Codes and should generally conform to Figure 8 .

Figure 8

1. Bend radius (R) depends upon method of bending and pipe D/t

2. Bends should be of uniform radius with curvature evenly distributed over the length of the pipe joint

3. Bends should be free from buckles, wrinkles, cracks or other mechanical defects

4. Ovality after bend should not exceed 2.5%

5. Longitudinal welds shall be near the neutral axis of the bend

6. No bend should be made within 2D of a previously made grid weld

e. Welding and Inspecting

After the pipes are strung along the right-of-way and bent as required, welding can begin. This is a very
critical part of pipeline construction process.

Before the pipe is welded, the pipe ends must be cleaned thoroughly of any dirt, rust, mill scale, or
solvent. Pipeline welding is done with either manual or automatic electric welding equipment. Onshore
pipelines are usually manually welded, although automatic welding is increasingly being used.

Welding is done in several passes. The thickness of the pipe dictates the number of passes. Usually a
minimum of three welding passes is required. In usual welding, lead welders carry out a first pass after
the pipe ends are properly aligned and held with line-up clamps. Other welders then follow up with
additional weld passes until the required number of passes has been deposited as per specifications. See
Figure 9

Figure 9

And Figure 10 Welders are certified in advance for the pipe sizes to be welded.
Figure 10

Inspection of welded joints is an integral part of welding process. After a weld is made, it is examined to
ensure integrity of the weld. For inspection a number of non-destructive techniques are used, such as, x-
ray, gamma ray and ultrasonic etc. X-ray inspection method is most widely used. In x-ray inspection, a
photographic film is wrapped around the circumference of the pipe over the weld and exposed to
radiation. Any cracks, porosity or other welding defects are visible after the film is developed. X-ray films
are inspected carefully, and if any defective weld is found, it is repaired or removed and a new weld is
made and inspected before the welded joint is wrapped. See Figure 11 .

Figure 11

Inspection of all welded joints is normally recommended for critical pipelines such as those used for gas,
sour service or offshore operations.

For other services less than 100 percent inspection is possible. The construction plan must specify what
percentage of the welds is to be examined.
 f Pipeline Coating

Pipelines are coated to protect them against corrosion. The primary function of applying a coating is to
prevent water from contacting the steel in the pipe.

Pipelines are typically coated at a coating mill prior to delivery to the construction site. Alternatively, the
coating may be applied at its construction storage site. In either case, only the un-coated external portion
of the welded pipeline joints needs to be coated. Coating of the weld joints is done very carefully,
applying sufficient overlap to ensure that the whole length of the pipeline is correctly protected. See
Figure 12 and Figure 13

Figure 12

Figure 13
There is several coating materials used for external protection of oil and gas pipelines. The selection of
coating material for a pipeline depends upon the terrain, soil condition, backfill material and expected
operating temperature.

The most common coating materials for the external protection of oil and gas transmission pipelines are:

Hot applied asphalt,

Polyethylene coatings (PE),

Fusion bonded epoxy coating (FBE),

Asphalt mastic coating, and

Cold applied epoxy cal tar coatings.

With yard applied coatings, a variety of suitable field joint coating systems are available for the protection
of the welded joints, such as;.

Polyethylene shrink sleeves,

Epoxy field joint coating (for FBE coated pipe),

Fused polyethylene powder (for PE coated pipe),

Coal applied tapes.

g. Lowering-in the Pipeline

Upon completion of welding, inspection of the welds, and a final holiday check of the coating, the pipe is
ready to be buried. The pipeline is lifted by side boom tractors and is carefully lowered to the bottom of
the trench. See Figure 14 .
Figure 14

Special attention is paid to the condition of the trench to allow the pipeline to be lowered without
damaging the coating and to ensure that the pipeline is laid in the ditch with even support. The pipe is
inspected prior to placement to ensure that there are no tears or bruises on the external coating.

Sometimes it may be necessary, especially in rocky areas, to put a pad of fine soil on the trench bottom to
protect the pipe coating from damage. Often, wide non-abrasive belts or rubber tyred roller cradles are
used to avoid damaging the protective coating and overstressing the pipe.

In areas where ground water is present, anchors or concrete weights are placed on the pipe to keep it from
floating.

After the pipe is lowered into the ditch, tie-in welds are made between the lowered sections. See
Figure 15 . Pipe ends are properly aligned without the use of external force, prior to welding. This is
required to prevent the tie-in joints being left under stress.
Figure 15

h. Backfilling/Clean-up

The final operations in pipeline construction are backfilling and clean up of the right-of-way. Immediately
after lowering the pipeline, the trench is backfilled with the soil that was excavated from the ditch and
carefully compacted all around the pipe. Special care should be exercised to ensure that the pipe is not
crushed by the weight of the backfill or by rocks falling on the pipe.

Backfilling can be done either with blade type equipment or a machine auger. See Figure 16 . When the
excavated material is unsuitable for backfilling, especially in rocky areas, sand or equivalent material
must be used. The original topsoil is then replaced on the surface.
Figure 16

As soon as possible after backfilling, the site is cleaned-up, surplus material is removed, and the right-of-
way is seeded with grass or a crop to control erosion. The right-of-way is restored as nearly as possible to
its original condition. See Figure 17 .

Figure 17

i. Special Construction Considerations

Often, pipeline right-of-way needs to traverse rivers, roads or railways. These crossings require special
construction equipment and procedures, often performed by specialist sub-contractors.
Depending on the width of the road or the size of the river to be traversed, a variety of construction
techniques are available.

Road crossings are normally done by either ditching or boring. Ditching is less expensive, but it is often
not permitted. A boring machine, on the other hand can make a crossing under the road, without
disturbing road surfaces.

i.1 Road, Railroad Crossings

Even small pipeline projects often involve crossing roadways and streams; a long-distance
pipeline may cross scores of each. A variety of techniques are used for crossing these obstacles,
depending on the length of the crossing, the size of the stream or roadway, applicable
regulations, and, where federal lands are involved, the extant policies of the federal land owner.

Road and Railroad Crossings: Crossing roadways or railroads can be done by either
trenching or boring. When trenching, the roadway must be closed to traffic for some period of
time. The road itself must be removed in that portion that overlays the pipeline and reinstalled
after pipeline installation is complete. Because of the obvious disruptions to traffic flow that will
result, this method is often not permitted for busy thoroughfares, and instead a trenching
technique that will allow the road to remain in service would be used. Similarly, an analogous
approach to crossing a railroad would require that a section of the railroad directly above the
pipeline path be removed and reinstalled after pipe installation is complete. Again, trenching
alternatives are available if disruption of rail service cannot be tolerated. Virtually identical
design considerations are made for road and railroad crossings. Of primary importance is a
calculation of the maximum dynamic loading on the pipe from traffic or trains. This dictates the depth
of cover between the road or railroad and the pipe and whether additional design features are added to
disperse the load to a sufficient degree so as to not deform the pipe.

A schematic of a typical trenched road crossing is shown in the following figure: 18, 19, 20
Figure: 18
Boring is done with a horizontal boring machine that drills a hole under the roadway or railroad without
disturbing the road surface or the track bed. A casing pipe is normally installed in the bored hole, and then
the pipeline is placed inside the conductor. Spacers are used to center the pipeline within the conductor.
This sleeve arrangement is effective not only in reducing the load on the pipe but also in reducing
corrosion in the segment of the pipe underlying the roadway.

The American Petroleum Institute document API RP 1102 provides guidance for pipelines running under
roads. Generally, 4 feet of cover is adequate for pipelines 12 inches and smaller. Larger pipelines may
require additional protection by way of more cover, pipe sleeves, or concrete slabs positioned above the
pipe to disperse the dynamic loading from traffic and prevent deformation of the pipe. Following figure
provides an example of a bored pipeline road crossing.

Figure: 19

Figure 20
i.2 Water body Crossings. Strategies for crossing water bodies depend on a number of
site specific factors, most importantly, the size and nature of the water body itself and the
existing ecosystems. A schematic of a typical water body crossing is shown in following figures:

For river crossing, pipelines are laid below the river or stream bed with concrete coating for stability.
Pipeline bridges are sometimes used for river crossings. See Figure-21 .

Figure 21

Directional drilling is an alternative technique where there are environmental concerns and when crossing
larger bodies of water. This method is becoming increasingly attractive because of its minimal
environmental impact, and because it does not disrupt waterway traffic. However, this technique is
considerably more expensive and currently limited to 1-2 km of length. An illustration of directional
drilling is shown in Figures 22, 23, 24, 25

Figure 22
Typical Waterbody Crossing (Source: Modified from FERC Golden Pass LNG Terminal and
Pipeline Project image)

Figure 23

Stream and river crossings can be made in a variety of ways.

2 Open-cut wet (in-stream) method. A back hole or dragline can be used in minor stream
crossings to make a ditch for the pipe to rest in. This technique does not use any method
to divert the stream. The pipe is installed and backfilled while the river/stream continues
to run through the site. The ditch is then backfilled, and the pipe may be fitted with
concrete weights to hold it in place against the stream currents and movement of stream
bed sediments. The benefits are low cost and a quick completion time, making this the
method of choice when existing regulations or policies do not require other techniques.
Disadvantages include potentially significant pollutant and sediment runoff, greatly
increased total suspended sediment concentrations downstream, changes in channel
morphology, and impacts to aquatic ecosystems. These problems can be mitigated only
by a quick completion time.

2. An alternative method of water body crossings is called the open-cut dry (isolated)
method. Here the stream is isolated and diverted around the pipeline crossing. Then the
trench is excavated, the pipe is installed and backfilled, and then water diversion
structures are removed and the stream is allowed to restabilize over the buried pipe. It is
best-suited for narrow streams and rivers with flows less than 141 cubic feet per second.
The two main methods of isolated crossings are the dam-and-pump method and the
flume method. In the dam-and-pump method, the stream is dammed and water is
transferred across the construction site by means of a temporary hose or pipe and pump.
In the flume method, the stream is dammed and a culvert is installed. Isolated crossing
methods usually have less sediment yield than a wet crossing, but are often more
expensive and more time consuming.

3 For larger bodies of water, horizontal directional drilling (HDD) may be used. It
offers several advantages, including no disruption of traffic on the waterway and
minimum environmental impact. The process proceeds in three basic steps. First, a pilot
hole is drilled. Secondly, the pilot hole is enlarged to a diameter larger than the diameter
of pipe to be installed. Slurry composed of bentonite clay is typically used to lubricate the
 drill and bring cuttings out of the hole. Similar slurry is also often pumped into the
enlarged hole to prevent it from collapsing before the pipe can be installed. Finally, the
prefabricated pipe segment is pulled into the hole, using the same drill rig that bored the
initial and enlarged holes. This sequence of steps is depicted in following figure:
Heavy equipment is required on both sides of the waterbody crossing for HDD. The
drilling rig spread requires a minimum 100-foot wide by 150-foot long area on each
bank. The drilling operation requires large volumes of water for mixing the drilling
slurry, often but not necessarily withdrawn from the waterbody being crossed. The length
of workspace should be sufficient to permit fabricating the product pipeline into one
string. The width should be what is necessary for normal pipeline construction, although
a workspace of 100-foot wide by 150-foot long will also be required at the exit point,
assuring that the pipe can be installed in one uninterrupted operation during the pullback.
The recommended minimum cover depth is 20 feet for the lowest section of the crossing.

Slurry pits are constructed in the construction zone to support boring operations. Slurries
recovered from the hole are delivered to these pits where they can be recycled. At the
completion of drilling, the slurries are removed for use at another drilling operation or
used elsewhere in the pipeline construction project to be mixed with native soils to
enhance slope stability or increase water retention properties, where warranted.
Otherwise, slurries are disposed of as nonhazardous wastes.

4 Not all streams are crossed by installing the pipeline beneath the stream. Some pipelines
are installed on pipeline bridges, steel structures built to suspend the pipeline above
the stream. Use of this method depends on a number of factors, including the presence of
traffic on the waterway. In addition, new pipeline construction may cross existing
pipelines in service.
Instances in which anchoring is required include river crossings where currents can cause
pipe movement or scour beneath the pipe installed on top of the river bed, a dry wash
subject to temporary flooding or extraordinarily fast stream flows after heavy rains, or
where certain types of backfill are used.
Figure 24

Figure 25

i.3 Support Method:

The other method is to install the RCC or metallic supports by piling in the river bed. The height above
and below the river bed must take care of tides, water velocities in different weather conditions, and the
distance must take care of bends/ sagging of pipeline. The pipeline should also be tied or anchored
properly with the supports considering all Parameters so as to tale care of rigidity, effects of expansion/
contractions as the case may be.

Supports- Design
 The Manufacturers Standardization Society (MSS) has developed a set of standard practices that helps
with the decision process. Those standards are SP-58, SP-69, and SP-127. They are helpful and do give
some allowable and maximums for things like spacing, which have been accepted by ASME and others to
eliminate further calculations.

For all practical purposes the codes do not cover pipe support systems design. Some, like B31.1, have no
mandatory appendices that give guidance and an approach methodology for certain types of support
problems. The codes will also allow or point to the MSS standard practices mentioned previously.

B31.3 also lists some objectives to meet in designing such support systems. They can apply to any piping
system. In summary they are

1. Prevent stresses in excess of permitted stresses.

2. Prevent joint leakage.
3. Prevent excess forces on equipment to which pipe is connected.
4. Prevent excess stresses in the elements of the support system.
5. Avoid resonance from vibrations.
6. Avoid interference from the thermal movement with other pipes or structures.
7. Prevent excessive sag or distortion, including pipe in a creep condition.
8. Shield from excess heat, which could overstress the supporting components.

There are a few other guidelines that can be helpful, including the distance between supports. This is a
function of sag from such things as weight, locating the supports near heavy point loads such as valves or
risers, locating the lines near structures or where a structure can be provided, and avoiding locating items
like those mentioned in changes of direction like an elbow. For economical reasons one should group
piping together, such as on pipe racks that one sees all over a plant.

It is time to work on some of the calculations that will be encountered in the design. The first is the
spacing of supports. This can be a source of controversy. The spacing is of course dependent on the
weight of the piping being supported. The MSS standard practices provide an acceptable table based on a
pipe size and material filled with either water or vapor. Since it is specific to certain wall weights and
other criteria, this book will lead you through the underlying calculations. A straight portion of pipe
between two supports is a simple beam. Therefore, the stress calculation becomes one of determining the
end connections and calculating the stress.

There are three main categories: support, restraint, and brace. Within each category there are some
subsets. The following are some of the subsets under restraints:

Stop: A device that permits rotation but prevents movement in one direction along one axis.
Double-acting stop: A device that prevents movement in both directions along one axis.
Limit stop: A device that permits limited movement.
Anchor: This device is essentially a rigid restraint; however, it is also often considered as a piece
of equipment that would accept without harm only a limited moment or force.

The following are some of the subsets under supports:

Hanger: A support that does so by suspending the pipe from a structure.

Guide: A device that prevents rotation about an axis.
Resting or sliding support: A device that provides the support from beneath the pipe and offers no
resistance except friction.
 Rigid support: A support that provides stiffness in at least one direction.
Constant effort: The most common type is a spring support that is intended to supply a constant
supporting force through a range of movement.
Damping device: Commonly called a snubber, which acts as a shock absorber in its efforts.

Braces do not have the same number of common subsets. They are employed to act as restraints for
forces that generally do not come from such sources as thermal expansion or gravity. MSS-SP-127 offers
guidelines on bracing.

The next issue for a designer is to select the appropriate type of support for whatever is being designed. In
the previous example, the entire line was specified as horizontal. So there would be no normal up or down
thermal movements. Rigid hangers would be appropriate. Also, there was no insulation, indicating no
high temperatures. However, for the sake of discussion a high temperature can be posited to demonstrate
how one might determine how much the rigid hammer could be expected to sway or swing as the pipe is
moved from side to side from thermal expansion.

Non- rigid Hangers

To move to the next item on the agenda one will surely find that there is somewhere in the system where
the movement is such that a rigid hanger is not advisable and some other sort is required. As was noted in
the discussion of subsets, there are two non-rigid types, the constant force and the spring hanger. The
spring hanger is the more common.

As was indicated, the determination is that the location of the hanger is one where, by calculation, one has
determined that a rigid hanger is not adequate. So the first step will be to determine the range of
movement for that location. It is conservative to use the proportional method previously described for the
calculation if a more rigorous method is not available. The MSS hanger documents break this into four
ranges, which vary from 1 /4 in. to 3 in. Then they recommend both load variability and a hanger type for
that specific range.

Spans
A pipeline laid on an uneven seabed does not usually conform to the seabed profile, but instead forms free
spans. These are of concern because of possible fatigue damage induced by vortex oscillations and
because the spans are vulnerable to hooking by fishing gears and ship anchors.

Pipeline free span:

Freely suspended parts of the pipeline are usually referred to as free spans. This type of structure may
also be found closer to the coast when crossing rough topography or in the rivers. The hydrodynamic
loading on free span pipelines below the shelf edge is mostly due to current flow. It is well known that
current flow may cause vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) in free span pipelines. Parameters such as
turbulence in the flow, proximity of the sea bed, pipe sagging, flow inclination angle relative to the
longitudinal axis of the pipe, pipe-soil interaction and the dynamic coupling between adjacent free spans
all influence the vortex shedding induced response of the pipe.

Pipelines oscillations may occur in the cross-flow directions and the in-line direction of the flow. By far
the more serious oscillations are those, which occur, in the cross-flow direction. In-line oscillations are
not generally considered to cause serious oscillation problems in the pipe, although some exceptions to
this have been reported.

Pipeline failure that may be caused by vortex-excited motions can be prevented if the vortex-shedding
frequency is sufficiently far from the natural frequency of the pipe span such that dynamic oscillations of
the pipe are minimized. Based on that maximum allowable free span length is calculated for a particular
pipeline.

The maximum allowable free span length of a pipeline depends on the length and wall thickness e.g. for
36 diameter of 28 mm thickness pipeline, 35 meters is the maximum allowable free span. Any span of
greater length is critical.

Free spans occur in the in-field pipelines and only those which are critical are taken are rectified
supporting the pipe with sand bags.

The pipeline has no oscillation and vibrations. Such pipeline crossing needs to be monitored closely as
per the safety codes.