【History of HaiChuan Pipelines】A brief overview of China’s history of submarine pipeline laying

Let’s talk about the history of pipeline laying by CNOOC. In fact, this history is that of the offshore engineering company, which was then part of the Bohai Petroleum Exploration Bureau (abbreviated as HAIKE, now known as Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd.), in terms of its pipeline-laying activities. Before 1987, no domestic oil company had carried out pipeline laying work; offshore construction activities had only involved the installation of a pipeline across a river in the suburbs of Tianjin in 1983, as well as an underwater pipeline in the Chengbei oil field. In these cases, the surface towing method was used: long pipelines were prefabricated on land (these pipelines were about 2 kilometers long), then towed to the destination by tugboats, sunk into the sea, and finally the pipe ends were retrieved, connected to the vertical pipes, and submerged again.

As new oil fields were continuously developed, the laying of submarine pipelines became an urgent necessity. Eventually, in 1987, a used pipeline-laying ship from an American company was purchased from Singapore (named Vega), which is now known as Binhai 109. 91 meters long and 27 meters wide, with a crane capacity of 300 short tons, pipe laying on the starboard side, and 7 welding stations. The purchase price was $3.8 million (during the Iran-Iraq War, when the oil industry was in a downturn), which was quite cheap. There are the equipment, but no one knows how to lay the pipes or what the process is.

Back then, 8 experts from Nippon Steel were hired, ranging from captains and chief engineers to sailors. On its first outing at sea, the ship encountered severe storms; the boat, which was over 100 meters long, listed to 30 degrees. The anchor cables broke one after another, and as a result, the leadership (the captain at that time was not competent enough, so it was the company’s leaders who took command) ordered that all anchor cables be cut and the positioning anchors discarded. It was only with the use of a single main anchor that the ship was able to be brought under control. The first attempt at pipe laying ended in failure, and it scared everyone quite a bit.

Failure is indeed the mother of success; amidst the shock, I also came to understand the shortcomings of Ship 109. After preparation, in October of the following year (1988), it was taken to **Youlian Shipyard for targeted modifications; the pneumatic control system of the anchor winch was replaced with a PLC-based control system, thereby improving the response speed and reliability of the anchor winch. After returning to 109, the Japanese boarded the ship again and assisted the operators step by step, eventually laying a pipeline successfully.

Pipelayers are relatively large, thus having good stability. But the problem is that pipe-laying ships need to drop 8-10 anchors for positioning, and they also have pipelines trailing from their stern. If the weather forecast is unfavorable, the pipeline should be abandoned as soon as possible, and the anchor should be used to take shelter from the storms. Otherwise, once the wind starts blowing, it’s not possible to abandon the pipe; one can only hold its ground and resist. If faced with crosswinds and rough waves, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In 1990, the 109 encountered another bout of severe microclimatic weather in the Suihai Sea area, with gusts reaching force 11. The ship listed to 35 degrees, and seawater flowed into the vessel through the anchor cable holes (trying to seal the leaks with blankets didn’t work); it flooded the anchor winch and reached up to the knees in the living quarters. All on board, including the Japanese, totaling over 150 people, put on life jackets. Those who are seasick lie on the floor, while those who are not use basins to scoop water; the vomit has already spilled over the trash bin. I also observed the situation outside several times, trying to figure out from which side one should jump into the sea in case of a shipwreck or abandonment. Looking downwind, there was a row of lights – those were tugboats urgently dispatched by the company, lined up ready to rescue anyone who had fallen into the water at that moment.

Ocean Engineering Technology: Starting with Sinopec’s construction of pipeline-laying ships – A brief overview of China’s history in submarine pipeline laying 5152zhaowc0027 VIP2009-3-12 16:35 Recently, I heard that Sinopec has also begun to build pipeline-laying ships. Previously, CNPC also began building pipe-laying ships in Guangzhou; thus, all three major oil companies are now involved in underwater pipelines. Sinopec can be considered the leader in this field; its Victory Oilfield has been involved in oil exploration in shallow waters (to be precise, tidal flats, which are quite different from underwater pipeline technologies) for a long time. It was probably in the early 1960s. Thereafter, in the 1990s, a shallow-water pipelayer—SL901—was built, with a working depth of 8 meters and a tensioner developed independently. Bohai Petroleum was established in 1964, so it’s considered the younger one. Let’s talk about the history of pipeline laying by CNOOC. In fact, this history is that of the offshore engineering company, which was then part of the Bohai Petroleum Exploration Bureau (abbreviated as HAIKE, now known as Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd.), in terms of its pipeline-laying activities. Before 1987, no domestic oil company had carried out pipeline laying work; offshore construction activities had only involved the installation of a pipeline across a river in the suburbs of Tianjin in 1983, as well as an underwater pipeline in the Chengbei oil field. In these cases, the surface towing method was used: long pipelines were prefabricated on land (these pipelines were about 2 kilometers long), then towed to the destination by tugboats, sunk into the sea, and finally the pipe ends were retrieved, connected to the vertical pipes, and submerged again. As new oil fields were continuously developed, the laying of submarine pipelines became an urgent necessity. Eventually, in 1987, a used pipeline-laying ship from an American company was purchased from Singapore (named Vega), which is now known as Binhai 109. 91 meters long and 27 meters wide, with a crane capacity of 300 short tons, pipe laying on the starboard side, and 7 welding stations. The purchase price was $3.8 million (during the Iran-Iraq War, when the oil industry was in a downturn), which was quite cheap. There are the equipment, but no one knows how to lay the pipes or what the process is. Back then, 8 experts from Nippon Steel were hired, ranging from captains and chief engineers to sailors. On its first outing at sea, the ship encountered severe storms; the boat, which was over 100 meters long, listed to 30 degrees. The anchor cables broke one after another, and as a result, the leadership (the captain at that time was not competent enough, so it was the company’s leaders who took command) ordered that all anchor cables be cut and the positioning anchors discarded. It was only with the use of a single main anchor that the ship was able to be brought under control. The first attempt at pipe laying ended in failure, and it scared everyone quite a bit. Failure is indeed the mother of success; amidst the shock, I also came to understand the shortcomings of Ship 109. After preparation, in October of the following year (1988), it was taken to **Youlian Shipyard for targeted modifications; the pneumatic control system of the anchor winch was replaced with a PLC-based control system, thereby improving the response speed and reliability of the anchor winch. After returning to 109, the Japanese boarded the ship again and assisted the operators step by step, eventually laying a pipeline successfully. Pipelayers are relatively large, thus having good stability. But the problem is that pipe-laying ships need to drop 8-10 anchors for positioning, and they also have pipelines trailing from their stern. If the weather forecast is unfavorable, the pipeline should be abandoned as soon as possible, and the anchor should be used to take shelter from the storms. Otherwise, once the wind starts blowing, it’s not possible to abandon the pipe; one can only hold its ground and resist. If faced with crosswinds and rough waves, the consequences would be unimaginable. In 1990, the 109 encountered another bout of severe microclimatic weather in the Suihai Sea area, with gusts reaching force 11. The ship listed to 35 degrees, and seawater flowed into the vessel through the anchor cable holes (trying to seal the leaks with blankets didn’t work); it flooded the anchor winch and reached up to the knees in the living quarters. All on board, including the Japanese, totaling over 150 people, put on life jackets. Those who are seasick lie on the floor, while those who are not use basins to scoop water; the vomit has already spilled over the trash bin. I also observed the situation outside several times, trying to figure out from which side one should jump into the sea in case of a shipwreck or abandonment. Looking downwind, there was a row of lights – those were tugboats urgently dispatched by the company, lined up ready to rescue anyone who had fallen into the water at that moment. Finally, the wind stopped the next morning. The 109, this massive steel vessel, is riddled with damage; none of the lifeboats hanging on the sides remain. The row of liquefied gas cylinders used for cooking on the left side has completely disappeared, and even the containers fixed to the deck have shifted from the left side to the right side; everything small has also been swept away. It’s not clear what drove them, but the crew, working together as one, put in great effort; it took them half a month at sea to restore all the functions of the anchor winch, the kitchen, and the pipeline-laying equipment, after which they immediately got started on the pipeline-laying work. I remember that the insurance company even held a celebration party at sea (they were probably the ones who benefited the most), presented a commemorative plaque, and gave away a camera as well. That pipeline laying operation also ended successfully, setting multiple firsts in terms of offshore pipeline laying speed, pipe diameter, length, and more. Through this trial, the offshore pipeline laying team has become more mature technically, and especially in terms of determination.

At this point, 109 is capable not only of pipe laying but also of carrying out all related tasks such as installing risers, backfilling ditches, pipe cleaning, pressure testing, laying submarine cables, and high-voltage cable testing. This ship has made significant contributions to offshore operations; it has traveled throughout the Chinese seas, and has also gone to the Java Sea in Indonesia on two occasions, as well as to Thailand once, in order to earn foreign currency. To cope with the increasing number of pipeline-laying tasks, Offshore Engineering converted another 200-ton floating crane ship, Binhai 106, into a pipeline-laying vessel. Its pipeline-laying capacity is less than 109; it is used to carry out tasks involving shallower waters and smaller pipe diameters, as well as back-digging operations.

The construction of the Lanjiang ship was initiated in 1999; it was designed by the Dutch company GUSTO and built at Yantai Raffles Shipyard, entering service in early 2002. The cost is 1.3 billion. The ship is 157 meters long, 48 meters wide, and has a draft of 12.5 meters. 280 beds. The main crane has a capacity of 3,800 tons, while the auxiliary crane has a capacity of 50 tons. The operation water depth is 8–150 meters, with pipe laying also on the starboard side. It is also equipped with the most advanced equipment, such as fully automatic welding machines imported from abroad and fully automatic ultrasonic non-destructive testing devices. It’s like swapping a shotgun for a rifle – efficiency has improved significantly. Soon, a minor modification was made to enable the installation of a simple two-node pipeline.

The construction of the Lanjiang ship was initiated in 1999; it was designed by the Dutch company GUSTO and built at Yantai Raffles Shipyard, entering service in early 2002. The cost is 1.3 billion. The ship is 157 meters long, 48 meters wide, and has a draft of 12.5 meters. 280 beds. The main crane has a capacity of 3,800 tons, while the auxiliary crane has a capacity of 50 tons. The operation water depth is 8–150 meters, with pipe laying also on the starboard side. It is also equipped with the most advanced equipment, such as fully automatic welding machines imported from abroad and fully automatic ultrasonic non-destructive testing devices. It’s like swapping a shotgun for a rifle – efficiency has improved significantly. Soon, a minor modification was made to enable the installation of a simple two-node pipeline.