Thursday, August 08, 2019

Using Bulldozer for Shore Pulling


We have been awarded a pipelaying project of Pertamina. At the early stage of the project, I went to a meeting in Timas, Indonesia.
In the meeting, the overall aspects of the project explained and discussed. We discussed about the shore pulling operation of the pipeline as well. As I understood in the meeting, in Indonesia for shore pulling operation of pipelines, using bulldozer is common instead of linear winch.
Later I attended an internal meeting and for shore pulling operation I informed them that using bulldozer is common in Indonesia. But the top managers didn’t think about it seriously. Therefore we planned to find and rent a linear winch in Indonesia and use it for shore pulling operation.
We searched and found an old winch that didn’t have drawings and documents. Hence we spent lots of time to prepare the drawings and documents, then tested and got certificate and submitted for approval. After a few revisions, finally, the client approved the drawings and documents.
A team went for the preparation of the beach area to do all preparation, including trenching, foundation, installation and securing the winch for operation,…
But the team working on that operation faced with some issues and at the end, we used a bulldozer to do the shore pulling operation.

Therefore, it’s recommended to notice to all local info provided at the early stage of the project; otherwise after wasting time, resource and energy doing trial and error, we may proceed back to the first provided situation.


Balongan, Indonesia, Balongan Main Oil Line Project, 2013

Wednesday, August 07, 2019

Safety First, Offshore Pipeline Hydrotest Lessons Learned

We prepared an infield pipeline for hydrotest and came back near to the platform we first finished the preparation. Everything was arranged and coordinated with ONGC FPS and we had left the location with all essential safety signs. But when we came back faced with something weird!
A vessel berthed to the boat landing of the platform and probably some activity was going on there!
I called the vessel through radio and asked what the hell they were doing there. Someone answered: “This is bla bla, the superintendent. I am British and we are doing some subsea work here. Our divers are working down here.”
It was strange to me!
I said: “Who cares your nationality?! Who allowed you to work there?! You have not noticed any of the safety signs and are working in a high-risk area! We are doing hydrotest and the pressurization of the pipeline is already started and will soon exceed 170 bars. You have been strongly warned!”
We continued the discussion and after a few minutes, finally, the vessel retrieved the divers and cleared the area.

Mumbai High Filed, Arabian Sea, India, RSPPM Project, 2006
If there is a smooth and tidy way ahead, passing from the old rocky roads is not recommended. (Weierstrass)