Global Divers & Contractors, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Global Industries, rerouted a 20-in. pipeline through an in-line booster pump station platform this summer at Main Pass Block 69 in the Gulf of Mexico. The operation for Equilon Enterprises LLC involved what is believed to be the largest series of mechanical pipeline connectors ever used in one project application. The project was completed to increase flow volumes in the 20-in. line.
In the first phase of the project, Global Industries' Offshore Construction Division used derrick barge Arapaho to install the four-pile pump station platform in 33 ft. of water. The platform - with a 180-ton jacket, 570-ton deck, and 650-ton pump module - was installed approximately 140 ft. from the 20-in. pipeline.
In the second phase of the project, Global Divers & Contractors installed a series of three individual pipeline connectors (a 20 x 12-in. hot tap, a 20-in. line stopple, and a 20-in. end connector) to reroute one end of the 20-in. pipeline to the pump station platform. To reroute the pipeline from the platform, a duplicate series of 20-in. connectors was installed in reverse order. Two 20-in. tie-in spools, about 140 ft. long each, connected the platform risers to the 20-in. line at each end connector.