Terminal pipeline replacement

An engineering client in Nigeria was commissioned by an oil and gas operator to carry out replacement of a flowline to their offshore terminal. The pipeline lay corridor was on marshy land close to shore, and installation was to be carried out from an anchored barge.

MDL’s Third-generation Reel Drive System is the most adaptable system to convert a barge - with its challenging back-deck characteristics - into a lay solution, thanks to its easy to mobilise, integrated track and cradle system, eliminating the requirement for a grillage. MDL had committed one of these systems to West Africa, which meant it was readily available in the region to undertake the task. The company’s engineering team assisted the client with sea-fastening design of the RDS. For further peace of mind, MDL had also provided an experienced Offshore Team Lead to oversee the mobilisation, operation and demobilisation of the equipment in Nigeria.

Despite COVID restrictions and delays, followed by a last-minute barge change, MDL RDS was safely mobilised on board and executed the pipeline deployment to the O&G Operators’ requirement. MDL’s unique Integrated Track and Cradle System helped reduce the idle time on the project as it was used for quick and safe sea-fastening of the single product reel - eliminating the need for fixing