Preparations start for TAP offshore pipelay

Construction works have started for the 105-kiloometre (65-mile) offshore section of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), with pipelay due to follow next year.

TAP project director John Haynes said: “This is the first time for engineering works of such a scale and magnitude to be carried out in Albania.

“Steel pipes will be welded together onboard state-of-the-art vessels…these welds are then tested, and the pipeline is lowered down onto the seabed, reaching depths of more than 810 metres (2,657 feet) beneath sea level.

“Approximately 9,000 pipes with a 36-inch diameter will be used, weighing approximately 100,000 metric tons [110,231 tons] in total.”

Saipem is responsible for engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the offshore section of the project, and will deploy around ten vessels for the campaign. Various vessels will perform dredging, supplying pipes, light construction, anchor handling, towing and survey activities.

A semi-submersible pipelay vessel will install pipes in deep water and a shallow-water lay barge will be used closer to the shore.

TAP will transport natural gas from the Shah Deniz II field in the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe.

The 878-kilometre (545-mile) long pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, then cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in southern Italy.

The landfall in Italy provides opportunities for further transport of Caspian natural gas to Germany, France, the UK, Switzerland, Austria, and other countries.

Source: Offshore Magazine