Contingency planning critical to maintaining pipeline operations

Judy Maksoud
International Editor
Offshore

All offshore field developments are dependent on pipelines. Edgar Keijser of Oil States Industries told participants at the ninth annual Offshore West Africa conference in Nigeria, "Pipeline failures do happen," and the best way to deal with them is to be prepared.

"There is an impressive number of deepwater fields off West Africa," Keijser said, "and there are more to come, especially off Nigeria." That increases the need for a contingency plan, he said.

With failures occurring during construction and throughout the life of the field, it pays to have a repair plan in place, Keijser said.

Keijser likened a contingency plan for a pipeline to carrying a spare tire in a car. There is a need to plan for the very likely possibility of a flat tire, he said.

Keijser outlined some of the options Oil States offers for pipeline repair. He explained the options and under what circumstances each is most appropriate based on the extent of the pipeline damage.

Keijser noted that a number of operators keep components on hand for pipeline repair and suggested such contingency planning would be advisable in West Africa. If operators pool their resources, Keiser said, they could establish contingency plans for pipeline repair offshore West Africa that could save a considerable of money, and more importantly, avoid environmental damage, he said.

"A damaged pipeline is always unplanned and always an emergency," Keijser said. "Pipeline repair should not be an unplanned contingency."

3/23/05