OFFSHORE & MARINE TECHNOLOGY | OIL & GAS

Reduction of deep-water
pipeline costs

DNV’s X-Stream concept for deep-

water gas pipelines can reduce
pipeline thickness by 25-30%

X-STREAM Recent finds in pre-salt fields offshore South America are a hot topic. With
planned multibillion-dollar projects in this region, these developments will provide a huge boost
in pre-salt output. However, while these sizable prospects may stimulate oil and gas produc-
tion, they are also sparking debate about how to take deep-water pipelines to the next level. To
reduce costs and still comply with safety regulations, the classification society Det Norske
Veritas (DNV) has developed a new pipeline concept, called X-Stream, described in the follow-
ing article by Asle Venås, global pipeline director at DNV.

L
ocated 330km off the coast, the South
American pre-salt fields pose a number
of exploration and gas transportation
challenges. In particular, long distance gas
transportation in deep waters is an increas-
ing issue due to its cost. The safe and cost-
effective transportation of oil and gas in
pipelines from deep and ultra-deep waters
is a growing challenge, not only for this
region but worldwide. New and safe solu-
tions are needed.
This is why DNV has developed a new
pipeline concept, called X-Stream,
which can reduce the cost of deep- and
ultra-deep-water gas pipelines while still
complying with the strictest safety and
integrity regimes. This long-distance gas
transportation concept can reduce the
wall thickness of deep-water gas pipelines
by utilising a unique system to control
the differential pressure.
Taking deep-water pipelines to the
next level
X-Stream can reduce both the pipeline wall
thickness and time spent on welding and
installation compared with deep-water gas
pipelines currently in operation. The exact
reduction in the wall thickness depends on
the water depth, pipe diameter and actual
pipeline profile. For a gas pipeline in water
depths of 2,500m, the wall thickness re-
duction can typically be 25-30% compared
with traditional designs.
Reducing the wall thickness of the pipeline
by 25-30% could save approximately 10%
of the installation cost.
Among the concept’s other advantages are
that it can allow for a larger diameter pipe
with the same wall thickness and also re-
duce the impact of accidental flooding in
the pipeline during installation.
There will be an increasing need for this
type of technological advance for deep-
water pipelines as operators push the
boundaries of exploration and produc-
tion. A 19% increase in global energy de-
mand is forecast by 2020. We are already
in a tenuous cycle of energy provision
with world oil consumption of about
85 million barrels per day (mbd), while

30 Ship & Offshore | 2012 | No 3

production is not expected to ever exceed
95mbd.
In the last 25 years, only one barrel of oil has
been discovered for every four barrels con-
sumed. The industry will have to prepare it-
self for drilling more complex and demand-
ing wells in deep waters to fill the gap.
The deep-water gas transportation market
will experience massive investments and
considerable growth over the coming years
as operating companies go even deeper to
find and recover new resources. This will
result in a number of new technical and
operational challenges as operators are
forced to push the frontiers of exploration
to meet energy demand.
The industry is delving into deeper and
more remote fields, and new exploration
activities are also heading for ultra-deep
waters. These fields are often located sever-
al hundred kilometres from shore, in water i-HIPPS isolates the pipeline if internal pressure starts to fall
depths in excess of 2,000m.
Several gas pipeline projects that will cross
deeper and deeper sea passes are also and gas transportation challenges that can loss of internal pressure for the life span of
planned. For example: The GALSI pipeline, be alleviated through the new concept. It is the pipeline.
which will run from Algeria to Italy, is at a also relevant to deep-water developments The classification society ran a concept risk
depth of 2,824m; SouthStream, transport- in the Gulf of Mexico, Eurasia and West Af- analysis to identify the major threats and
ing Russian gas to Europe under the Black rica, as well as any gas trunk lines crossing mitigate the risk of the concept. One im-
Sea, reaches a depth of more than 2,000m; deep-sea passes. portant issue was identified: For the con-
and the 3,400m-deep SAGE pipeline join- The X-Stream concept could also represent cept to function effectively, there must be
ing the Middle East and India. an alternative to the current solution of 100% internally leak-tight i-HIPPS valves,
deploying floating LNG plants combined at least for the secondary HIPPS valves.
Implications for industry with LNG shuttle tankers for such fields. Consequently, i-DBB was developed.
The production cost of pipelines in the X- X-Stream is based on field-proven technol- By utilising i-HIPPS and i-DBB, the X-
Stream concept decreases as less steel is re- ogies that have been innovatively arranged Stream system immediately and effectively
quired in the construction of the pipe. The to provide a new solution. The integral isolates the deep-water pipe if the internal
reduced thickness also means that manu- principle of X-Stream is always keeping a pressure starts to fall. In this way, the in-
facturing in higher grade steel is possible. minimum internal pipeline pressure. ternal pipeline pressure can be maintained
Installation costs are cut by the reduced The concept is based on a combination above a critical level for any period of
welding times, and the new method also of already established technology, an in- time.
results in increased laying rates. verted high pressure protection system (i-
The concept could have significant implica- HIPPS) and the development of inverted Implementing X-Stream
tions for projects around the world. In par- double block and bleed valves (i-DBB). The major challenge is to avoid pipeline
ticular, X-Stream will be highly applicable More than 20 subsea HIPPS systems world- collapses over hundreds, or thousands, of
to the recent finds in pre-salt fields offshore wide are currently in use to prevent sudden kilometres caused by the loss of internal
South America. Located 330km from the pressure rises in pipelines. DNV has invert- pressure through a leak or rupture of the
coast, they pose a number of exploration ed this well-established logic to prevent pipe during operation. X

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Ship & Offshore | 2012 | No 3 31

OFFSHORE & MARINE TECHNOLOGY | OIL & GAS
Current deep-water gas pipelines have tra-
ditionally been built with very thick walls
using large quantities of steel and special-
ised equipment for milling. Due to qual-
ity and safety requirements, the number of
pipe mills capable of producing this type
of pipe is limited.
During pipeline installation the heavy
weights are difficult to handle and the
thick walls are challenging to weld. Given
the more demanding composition of cur-
rent deep-water pipes, the number of pipe-
laying vessels capable of handling this
kind of pipeline is limited, too. Demand
is expected to increase for the few specialist
milling and laying facilities for deep-water
pipelines, which will further increase the
costs of conventional methods.
During installation or operational shut-
downs, gas pipelines at such extreme
depths have to withstand high external
pressures without imploding. X-Stream has
introduced a new method to deal with this
pressure problem without relying purely
on material thickness to ensure the integ-
rity of the pipeline to stop the collapse of
the pipe wall.
By controlling the differential between the
pipeline’s external and internal pressures
at all times, the amount of steel and thick-
ness of the pipe wall can be significantly re-
duced. The amount of savings depends on
diameter, seal quality, water depth, etc of the
pipeline system. For a typical gas pipeline at
a depth of 2,500m, the wall thickness can
be reduced by as much as 25-30% compared
with today’s practice.
The X-Stream concept fulfils common pipe-
lines codes such as ISO and DNV-OS-F101,
ensuring that safety is not compromised.
During installation of the new pipeline
concept, it is necessary to fully or partially
Combined with i-HIPPS, i-DBB maintains minimum pressure in the pipeline
at all times
32 Ship & Offshore | 2012 | No 3
flood the pipeline to control its differential
pressure. After that, cleaning and gauging
the pipeline can commence as normal. It
can then be dewatered and dried for opera-
tion, but this has to be done with control-
led pressure in the pipeline.
The i-HIPPS and i-DBB systems ensure
that the pipeline’s internal pressure never
drops below the collapse pressure dur-
ing operation – plus a safety margin. This
maintains a certain minimal internal pres-
sure in the pipeline during its entire life
span.
X-Stream consists of a series of valves and
pressure transducers linked to a control
system. The main i-HIPPS valves are locat-
ed above sea level to ensure easy access for
maintenance, inspection and testing. The
primary i-HIPPS system will activate on
a low-pressure signal from the pipeline.
This will maintain the minimum internal
pressure in the pipeline at all times as long
as the pipeline is free of leaks or ruptures
above the collapse critical area.
If the pressure continues to fall due to an
internal leakage in the main i-HIPPS valves
and is approaching the critical collapse
level, the i-DBB system is activated. The
pipeline is isolated by a viscous substance
of gel consistency that is pumped under
high pressure into the space between the i-
DBB valves to stop leaks from the side with
higher pressure. This is a central compo-
nent of the X-Stream concept and ensures
the integrity of the pipeline.
The collapse critical area is the depth at
which the external pressure can compro-
mise the pipeline. If leakage or rupture of
the pipeline occurs above this level, at the
rig or near the shore, then the secondary i-
HIPPS system will be activated. It is located
below the collapse critical area.
If there is leakage or rupture of the pipe-
line in shallow waters, the pressure will
fall and the i-HIPPS valves will close. i-
HIPPS activates on a low-pressure signal
to prevent pressure in the pipeline from
dropping below the pre-determined min-
imum and immediately isolates the deep-
water pipe if the pressure begins to fall.
This ensures that the internal pipeline
pressure is maintained above the criti-
cal level and protects the pipeline from
collapse due to excessive external pres-
sure. The secondary i-HIPPS valves are
placed below the collapse critical depth.
Should these subsea i-HIPPS valves have
an internal leak and the internal pressure
reach a critical level, a small bleed valve is
opened to the surrounding water and sea-
water floods the void between the i-DBB
valves. The seawater pressure here will en-
sure that the pressure never drops below
the critical level.
Leakage or rupture below the critical col-
lapse depth limit will not result in pipeline
collapse because the high external pres-
sure will prevent loss of internal pressure
below the critical level. If there is leakage,
it will result in an inflow of water rather
than gas leaking out, the same as would
happen with a traditional gas pipeline in
deep water.
It will also be important to maintain the
minimum pressure in the pipeline during
pre-commissioning. This can be done us-
ing produced gas separated from the wa-
ter in the pipe by a set of separation pigs
and gel. This technology is not new to the
industry; it has already been initiated as
standard practice by several oil companies.
From concept to reality
DNV has been instrumental in developing
and upgrading the safety and integrity re-
gime and standards for offshore pipelines
over the past decades. Today more than
65% of the world’s offshore pipelines are
designed and installed to DNV’s offshore
pipeline standard. The organisation was
also involved in several deep-water projects
in the past such as the Oman to India
pipeline, Bluestream, Perdido and Ormen
Lange.
Behind X-Stream stands a global team of
highly skilled engineers combining youth
and experience, headed by DNV in Rio de
Janeiro and including DNV colleagues in
Oslo, Houston and Cape Town. The new
concept has been launched following sig-
nificant research, development, engineer-
ing and industry input.
The DNV study is a concept, and a basic
and detailed design will have to be car-
ried out before the X-Stream concept is
realised on a real project. DNV is work-
ing with the industry to refine and test the
concept.