Near Moomba, Australia
A New Way of Delivering Pipeline Reliability
Location:
Near Moomba, Australia
Application:
Oil gathering system
Project Scope:
Reel-less Flexpipe HT used to connect two wells
Products:
3” 601 Reel-less Flexpipe HT (High Temperature)
Length:
5.4 Kilometres (3.35 miles)
Contractors:
Lean Field Developments and Spiderplow
Date:
June 2011
NO REEL DEPOSITS OR MANAGEMENT
- Reel-less technology delivers pipe on a coil, a self-supporting structure. No reel deposits are needed upfront, and reel management is obsolete: no need to invoice, track, store, or return reels.
LOWER INSTALLATION AND TRANSPORTATION COSTS
- Since longer lengths of pipe per coil can be shipped, fewer connections are required, reducing installation costs. No backloads with empty reels reduce transportation costs by 50%.
EASE OF INSTALLATION
- Faster, easier, safer! Custom-designed turntable and lifting devices allow for an easy installation. Coils are faster to install as more lengths of pipe can be installed in a single run. Coils can be plowed and trenched with the same ease as reels and have a lower likelihood of pipe kinks due to customized turntable design.
REDUCED FOOTPRINT
- Leftover pipe can be easily stored for future projects. With no reel management, less storage space is needed. Partially used coils can be returned under the same terms and conditions as other Flexpipe products.
Santos, Australia’s leading gas producer, needed a reliable, corrosion-less solution for a pipeline project in the Cooper Basin.
Santos had previously been using glass reinforced epoxy lines (GRE) for oil and steel lines for gas applications but wasn’t satisfied with either solution; there were numerous transport failures in GRE pipes, and corrosion issues in steel pipes. Material, transportation, and overall installation costs were also a concern that needed to be addressed.
Flexpipe’s innovative reel-less technology was chosen by Santos because of the benefits it provided. Smaller overall dimensions for reel-less allowed the pipe to be air-shipped and delivered in days instead of weeks. The reel-less technology eliminated the need for reel deposits or returns, resulting in an increased cost savings for Santos. Flexpipe’s custom-designed turntable and lifting device ensured seamless installation of reel-less Flexpipe HT, and fewer fitting connections were needed due to longer lengths of pipe delivered per coil.
Flexpipe provided Santos with incredible technical and operational support throughout the entirety of the project. Rory Burnell, Santos’ project lead, commented, “The speed at which Flexpipe was able to support our needs was impressive; their expertise and overall product knowledge is what sets them apart from the competition. The overall experience with Flexpipe was a positive one.”
