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In the pipeline
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07/12/2007
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Located off the coast of Norway, 850m below the surface of the North Sea, the Ormen Lange gas field development project is set provide up to 20% of British gas needs for the next 40years.
The big challenge facing Norwegian oil and gas technologist Bjørge was in overcoming the formidable bulk of the Storegga rockslide located near the continental shelf. The rockslide is more than 800km long – one of the longest on the continental shelf – and a huge mound of rubble has accumulated over thousands of years, creating an extremely rough seabed on which to lay pipelines.
Driven by pressure from the well only, natural gas is streamed to the surface from underwater camps to on shore production facilities. The gas flows in pipelines that pass through the rockslide and are therefore exposed to mechanical vibrations from influences such as the Gulf Stream, water avalanches and water turbulence due to the uneven seabed and pipeline internal flow.
This means the pipeline is monitored continually for vibration, which presents considerable safety risks such as leaks and even pipe breaks. Bjørge has developed a sophisticated monitoring system that uses Naxys technology’s hydro acoustics to synchronise multiple sensor nodes, each of which is driven by Analog Devices’ Blackfin ADSP-BF533 processor running at 500MHz.
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Author
Mike Richardson
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