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Project Number 480
Date of Summary September 29, 2004
Subject An Assessment of Safety, Risks and Costs Associated with Subsea Pipeline Removals
Performing Activity Scandpower Risk Management, Inc.
Principal Investigator Vigleik Sexe
Contracting Agency Minerals Management Service
Completion Complete
Description

When a subsea pipeline reaches the end of its useful life, it must be abandoned or removed. Currently, subsea pipelines are de-inventoried and purged until the hydrocarbon levels are undetectable before abandoning them in place or the pipeline is de-inventoried and purged until the hydrocarbon levels are undetectable before recovering the pipe as scrap. The common practice in both the U.S. waters and the North Sea is to abandon the pipeline in place which, for this study, was used as a baseline for comparison against other removal options currently used around the world.

The attached report presents an overview of the current U.S. and International regulations and details the safety risks, environmental risks and costs associated with the various disposal options for pipelines.

Reports
AA (471 KB) pdf file Sexe, V., et al., An Assessment of Safety, Risks and Costs Associated with Subsea Pipeline Disposals, Final Report, ScanPower, Inc., September 2004.
AB (1404 KB) pdf file App_A, Figures
AC (74 KB) pdf file App_B, Pipeline Recovery Procedures
AD (227 KB) pdf file

App_C, Different Pipe Disposal Options
AE (1257 KB) pdf file MMS Pipeline Presentation
 

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Last Updated: 10/10/2007, 08:02 AM