Page 36: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2006)

36 MTR July 2006

Traditionally used for insulation in cold, deep water in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea, the Oooguruk development project in the Beaufort Sea offshore Alaska will deliver the first application of pipe-in-pipe produc- tion flowline technology in the offshore Alaskan arctic when it comes onstream in early 2008. Pipe-in-pipe sys- tems typically facilitate production flow and include an inner carrier pipe; a layer of insulation; and an outside "jacket" pipe. "The pipe-in-pipe technology is an integral part of

Pioneer's Oooguruk field development strategy and com- mitment to deliver a safe, prudent operation," said J. D.

Hall, Operations manager, Pioneer Natural Resources

Alaska, Inc. INTEC Engineering completed detailed design of the Pioneer production pipeline system in win- ter 2006.

Milestone

Pipe-in-pipe technology, said Glenn Lanan, INTEC's senior project manager for Pioneer's Oooguruk pipeline project, manages several key arctic issues, providing leak detection, protection and secondary containment. "Oooguruk is recognized as Pioneer's single-largest proj- ect worldwide and represents a critical milestone to the industry's pursuit of offshore arctic developments. Pipe- in-pipe technology and additional innovations will create new avenues for development offshore the North Slope and offshore arctic regions worldwide."

The Oooguruk project includes offshore and onshore components and is currently in the execution phase. The

Oooguruk Field is estimated to contain 50 to 90 million barrels of gross oil resource and is expected to reach a peak production rate of approximately 15,000 to 20,000 bar- rels of oil per day by 2010.

Pioneer plans to drill approximately 40 production and injection wells from its offshore drill site over a three-year period.

The offshore portion of the Oooguruk project in

Harrison Bay consists of a six-acre drill site with produc- tion facilities and a 5.7-mile subsea buried pipeline bun- dle to shore. The offshore development, which includes a gravel island in approximately five feet of water, will be an unmanned operation with remote control and monitoring systems.

The onshore portion of the project includes a 2.3-mile onshore pipeline system built on vertical support mem- bers and an onshore tie-in pad with power generation, separation, compression, metering and other support util- ities.

The Oooguruk pipeline calls for an "open" bundle, where individual pipes are "strapped" together, rather than enclosed in a single large pipe, representing a "closed" bundle of pipes.

Lanan advises that the open bundle is less complex and lighter weight than a closed bundle, with no increase in risk. Pioneer considered a closed bundle but the design option proved cost-prohibitive for the Oooguruk multi- pipe development. "While operators have used pipeline bundles for about 25 years in North Sea, the systems typically have been closed or limited to two pipes. Pioneer has selected a multi-pipe open bundle representing another industry stride in the offshore arctic," said Lanan.

Three Phase Development

Pioneer's open bundle consists of four pipelines, meas- ures three feet wide and is two feet tall.

Eight-inch wide spacers package and separate the pipelines and facilitate pipe flexibility to avoid buckling of the lines. Each spacer is placed every 20 feet along the pipeline lengths.

The bundle includes:

INTEC Completes Detailed Design of

Oooguruk Pipeline Project

North Slope project to deliver industry-first for pipe-in-pipe production flowline technology in off- shore Arctic

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