of the most costly in the oil and gas industry. The costs for underwater 

 pipe-laying can approximate $1,000,000 per mile and possibly more in 

 rough terrains. Therefore, it is imperative to give as much protection 

 to the pipe as possible to prevent costly failures of the pipeline 

 (e.g., leaks, bends, ruptures) due to seismic activities, improper 

 burial, inadequate weld, or excessive currents and tides. 



Description 



A pipe-coating yard occupies approximately 75 to 200 acres, the 

 bulk of which is used for pipe storage. A relatively flat piece of land 

 that has good rail and water access is necessary for efficient operation. 

 Forty-foot lengths of pipe are generally brought to tha yard by rail (or 

 by truck or barge); after being coated the weighted pipes are shipped by 

 sea to a waiting pipe-laying barge. The main components of a pipe- 

 coating yard are: 



• Pipe-cleaning buildings 



• Pipe-coating buildings 



• Outdoor storage space 



• Supplies storage buildings 



• Rail terminal 



• Marine terminal and bulkhead 

 t Administrative offices 



• Maintenance and repair buildings 



Site Requirements 



The location of a pipe-coating yard has traditionally been in a 

 coastal area to utilize the marine connection to offshore operations. A 

 marine shipping terminal is a necessity for loading and unloading materials, 

 Uncoated pipe may arrive by barge, but when the coating has been applied, 

 the pipe must be shipped by boat to the offshore lay-barge. Raw materials, 

 e.g. pipe and cement, will typically arrive by land routes. Therefore 

 roadway and rail access are other criteria that must be satisfied in 

 site selection in addition to navigation channels. 



Construction/Installation 



Typically a pipe-coating yard must be situated on solid soil of 

 high load-bearing capacity because of the many activities involving 

 heavy equipment. With location of the yard in a coastal region, there 

 is a good probability that wetlands may be involved at some point in 

 construction. The land must be cleared of vegetation, and "soft spots" 

 must be excavated and filled with either sand or gravel to maintain an 

 acceptable working surface. Heavy equipment would be employed to rework 



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