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Pipelines News

16 Apr 2024

Allseas Makes Progress on Santos’ Barossa Gas Export Pipeline in Australia

Audacia pipelay vessel on Barossa assignment (Credit: Allseas)

Offshore installation contractor Allseas has made progress on the installation of the pipeline for Santos’ Barossa Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) project offshore Australia.Allseas’ Audacia pipelay vessel has installed her largest ever PLET in S-mode, concluding several years of in-house engineering, fabrication and testing, the Swiss-based contractor said.Due to the weight of the pipeline end termination structure, Allseas’ production crew had to install it separately to the connector head.Audacia vessels is being supported with four other vessels - Fortitude…

15 Apr 2024

MDL Assists Saipem on Gastrade’s LNG Development Off Greece

FSRU Alexandroupolis (Credit: Gastrade)

Maritime Developments (MDL) has assisted Saipem in progressing an LNG project offshore Greece, which included work on the connection of Gastrade’s Alexandroupolis floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) to the country’s gas transmission system.The project consisted of a FSRU and a mooring and pipeline system, connecting the floating unit to the Greek National Natural Gas Transmission System (NNGTS).An MDL flex-lay spread was used for the installation of two flexible risers…

15 Mar 2024

Saipem Gets Offshore Pipelines Installation Job for CCS Schemes in UK

Saipem's Catorone vessel (Credit: Saipem)

Saipem has signed a letter of intent for the development of CO2 offshore transportation and storage facilities as part of the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZTP) projects for the East Coast Cluster in the UK.Saipem signed a Letter of Intent, received by the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), a joint venture between the operator BP, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power), a joint venture between BP and Equinor.The…

12 Mar 2024

Nord Stream Sues Insurers in London Over 2022 Pipeline Blasts

© guteksk7 / Adobe Stock

Nord Stream is seeking more than 400 million euros ($436 million) from its insurers over explosions in 2022 which ruptured pipelines designed to transport Russian gas to Germany, court filings show.Nord Stream AG names Lloyd's Insurance Company and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC as defendants in its lawsuit, which was filed at London's High Court last month.Switzerland-based Nord Stream confirmed in an email there is a contractual dispute in London commercial courts between itself and insurers of the pipeline system."However…

11 Mar 2024

No Remaining Recoverable Oil Sheen Seen off California

Source: U.S. Coast Guard

The U.S.

07 Feb 2024

Sweden Ends Nord Stream Sabotage Probe

© guteksk7 / Adobe Stock

Sweden on Wednesday dropped its investigation into the explosions in 2022 on Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany, saying it lacked jurisdiction in the case but had handed evidence it had uncovered over to German investigators.The multi-billion-dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines transporting gas under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of blasts in the Swedish and Danish economic zones in September 2022, releasing vast amounts of methane into the air.Russia and the West…

19 Dec 2023

NTSB Recommends Pipeline Operators Implement Safety Management Systems

Six segments of damaged pipeline that were removed for replacement. The leak site, circled in red, was observed on the segment shown wrapped in a tarp. (Photo: NTSB)

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is recommending new notification alarms and procedures for potential incursions on pipelines and a change to an anchorage off the California coast following a crude oil release in 2021 caused by ship anchors damaging an underwater pipeline.NTSB investigators determined that the oil leak, which began on October 1, 2021, in San Pedro Bay, resulted from an anchor strike on the pipeline that occurred eight months earlier, when anchors…

05 Dec 2023

US Coast Guard Responds to Another GoM Oil Spill

A Main Pass Gathering Company, LLC Panther helicopter conducts an overflight to observe visible sheen off the coast of Louisiana, Nov. 18, 2023. (Source: US Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it was responding to an oil discharge near the Main Pass Oil Gathering (MPOG) Co's pipeline system in the Gulf of Mexico, while the main pipeline and several surrounding ones remained shut in."The reported sheen is being investigated and has not been confirmed to be associated with the November 16 observed initial discharge," the Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard had not yet identified any damage or indication of a leak after surveying the entire length of the pipeline along with 22.16 miles (36 km) of surrounding pipelines.

23 Nov 2023

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Shuts in Around 3% of Daily Output

Credit: US Coast Guard

Around 61,165 barrels of daily oil output from at least six producers, making up about 3% of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, has been shut in by Third Coast Infrastructure's underwater pipeline leak, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.The oil producers whose facilities are impacted include W&T Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Walter Oil and Gas, Cantium, Arena Offshore and Talos Energy Ventures, the Coast Guard said, citing the U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of…

22 Nov 2023

Finland-Estonia Gas Pipeline System to Get Bigger Capacity after Repair

Credit: Approximate location of Balticconnector between Finland and Estonia. - Credit: Wikimedia Maps

The Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia, which was damaged last month, will get a bigger northbound transmission capacity next year following repairs, Finnish operator Gasgrid said in a statement on Wednesday.The increase will come from an enhancement of the Latvia-Lithuania interconnection, which allows for higher gas volumes to be transported around the Finnish-Baltic region, it added.The pipeline will in the future get a base capacity of 70.5 gigawatt hours of gas per day in the direction from Estonia to Finland…

20 Nov 2023

1 Million+ Gallons: Pipeline Leaking Oil in the Gulf of Mexico

(Photo: Main Pass Oil Gathering Company, LLC)

The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday said it was still looking for the source of a leak from an underwater pipeline off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico that it estimated had released more than a million gallons of crude oil.The 67-mile long pipeline was closed by Main Pass Oil Gathering Co (MPOG) on Thursday morning, after crude oil was spotted around 19 miles offshore of the Mississippi River Delta, near Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans."Overflight teams observed visible oil Friday moving southwest away from the Louisiana shore…

16 Nov 2023

Energy Transfer, TotalEnergies Pen Deal for Crude Oil Offtake from Blue Marlin Offshore Port

Blue Marlin Offshore Port Project Map - Credit: MARAD

Energy Transfer LP has entered into a non-binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) with TotalEnergies related to term crude oil offtake from its proposed Blue Marlin Offshore Port for 4 million barrels per month. The HOA is subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements and the satisfaction of other conditions, including Energy Transfer taking a final investment decision on the project, expected to be developed in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore Cameron Parish, Louisiana…

16 Nov 2023

Court Battle Between Santos and Traditional Owners Continues

Source: Santos

Santos has issued a statement after the decision of the Federal Court of Australia on November 15 ruling that pipelay activities can commence on an 86-kilometer section of pipeline for the Barossa Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) – but not south of kilometre point 86 (KP86).This southern section would pass to the west of the Tiwi Islands.The Court has set December 4, 2023 as the date of commencement of the hearing of application brought by Jikilaruwu traditional owner Simon Munkara and…

08 Nov 2023

Finland Says China Promised Full Cooperation in Pipeline Probe

© iuneWind / Adobe Stock

Finland on Wednesday said China had promised to fully cooperate in the investigation of the destruction last month of the Balticconnector gas pipeline, which happened on the same night that three subsea telecoms cables in the area were also damaged.Finnish police have said they are investigating whether a Hong Kong registered container vessel, the NewNew Polar Bear, damaged the pipeline by dragging its anchor over the sea bed, but have not concluded whether this was an accident…

07 Nov 2023

Russia Says Telecoms Cable Damaged Last month Just Before Nearby Baltic Gas Pipeline

Credit: Jesper/AdobeStock

A Russian fibre optic cable under the Baltic Sea was damaged last month only 28 km (17 miles) from where a gas pipeline linking Finland and Estonia was damaged soon afterwards, Russian state company Rostelecom said on Tuesday.Finnish police believe damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline was caused by a Chinese container ship dragging its anchor along the seabed but have not concluded whether this was an accident or a deliberate act.Security of sub-sea cables and pipelines in the Baltic has become a top concern against the background of the Ukraine war…

03 Nov 2023

Second Gas Cargo Heads to Finland's LNG Terminal After Pipeline Rupture

Credit: Wojciech Wrzesień/AdobeStock

A tanker carrying Norwegian liquefied natural gas (LNG) is set to arrive at Finland's Inkoo terminal overnight, vessel tracking data showed on Friday, making it the second cargo since the Oct. 8 outage of a Finnish-Estonian gas pipeline.The Arctic Princess, carrying natural gas from the Arctic Hammerfest LNG plant, signaled its arrival at Inkoo on Friday at 2300 GMT, LSEG shipping data showed, corresponding to Saturday morning at 0100 EET in local time.The tanker loaded in Norway on Sept. 17 but sat off the Danish coast since Sept.

31 Oct 2023

China Cooperating in Balticconnector Investigation, Finland Says

Approximate location of Balticconnector between Finland and Estonia. - Credit: Wikimedia Maps

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Tuesday that China was cooperating in Finland's investigation of the Hong Kong-flagged NewNew Polar Bear vessel's role in the Oct. 8 damage to the Balticconnector pipeline.Finnish police leading the criminal investigation have named the NewNew Polar Bear container carrier as the prime suspect in damaging the gas pipeline early on Oct. 8, saying it was too early to tell if this was an accident or a deliberate act.A large anchor, believed to belong to the NewNew Polar Bear…

27 Oct 2023

Three Baltic Pipe and Cable Incidents "are related", Estonia Says

The NewNew Polar Bear ship photographed as Baltic Fulmar outside the Port of Rotterdam in 2020 - Public Domain Photo

The three incidents that resulted in damage to a gas pipeline and two telecom cables between Estonia, Finland and Sweden "are related", Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said.Finnish police leading the pipeline investigation have named the Hong Kong-flagged container carrier NewNew Polar Bear as the prime suspect in damaging the Balticconnector Finland-Estonia gas pipeline early on Oct. 8.A large anchor was found near the pipeline, and the investigators believe the pipe was…

25 Oct 2023

China Willing to Provide Necessary Information on Baltic Sea Pipeline Probe

China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on October 24, 2023 - Credit: China Foreign Ministry

China is willing to provide necessary information in accordance with international law regarding an investigation on damage to a Baltic Sea gas pipeline, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday at a regular press briefing.The damage earlier this month is believed to have been caused by a ship dragging a large anchor along the seabed, but it was too early to tell if this was an accident or a deliberate act, Finnish police said on Tuesday.

24 Oct 2023

Finland Says Gas Pipeline Likely Broken by Ship Dragging Anchor

(Photo: Finnish Navy)

Damage to a Baltic Sea gas pipeline earlier this month is believed to have been caused by a ship dragging a large anchor along the seabed, but it was too early to tell if this was an accident or a deliberate act, Finnish police said on Tuesday.Investigators said they had now retrieved a lost anchor from the seabed location where the pipeline ruptured on Oct. 8, and were investigating whether it belonged to a Chinese container vessel.Police have previously said damage to the Balticconnector…

23 Oct 2023

Kremlin, Asked about Damaged Baltic Pipeline, Says Threats to Russia 'Unacceptable'

Dmitry Peskov - Credit: Kremlin via Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 3.0 DEED

The Kremlin said on Monday that any threats made against Russia were "unacceptable" after Latvia's president said NATO should shut the Baltic Sea to shipping if Moscow were found responsible for damage to a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also repeated Moscow's denial of any involvement in the damage inflicted on the Balticconnectorpipeline and a telecoms cableon Oct. 8.Finnish investigators have said the damage may have been an act of sabotage…

23 Oct 2023

China Calls for 'Fair' Gas Pipeline Damage Probe from Finland

Create: alexyz3d/AdobeStock

China's foreign ministry on Monday called for an "objective, fair and professional" investigation into damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline, adding that a Chinese vessel was sailing "normally" in the relevant waters.China and Finland have started communication over the matter, and China hopes that relevant parties can find out the truth as soon as possible, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press briefing.An investigation into the pipeline damage is currently focused on the role of the Chinese NewNew Polar Bear container vessel, Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI

22 Oct 2023

China Ship is Focus of Pipeline Damage Probe, Finland Says

An investigation into the damage to the Balticonnector gas pipeline is currently focused on the role of the Chinese NewNew Polar Bear container vessel, Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Friday.Early on Oct. 8, a gas pipeline and a telecoms cable connecting Finland and Estonia were broken, in what Finnish investigators said may have been sabotage, though they have yet to conclude whether it was an accident or a deliberate act.On Tuesday, Sweden said a third link…