Trans Adriatic Pipeline Laying (TAP)

The 520km long pipeline will transport gas via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to Italy’s southern Puglia region and further to Western Europe....

9 09 2010

http://www.trans-adriatic-pipeline.com/tap-project/offshore_.html

TAP’s crossing of the Adriatic Sea is projected along the shortest-possible distance between Fier, in Albania and Italy’s southern Puglia region, while taking into account environment protection requirements and the specifics of the Adriatic seabed. Laying the steel pipes at depths of more than 800 meters will allow developers use of S-type lay barges, a state-of-the-art technology widely used in pipeline construction. Offshore - TAP – Trans Adriatic Pipeline Laying, Explaining offshore pipe-laying technique: The offshore pipeline will be laid from a special vessel, the so-called S-type barge. Joints of 12-meter-long pipe will be welded to the pipeline string on the deck of the barge. The vessel is then moved forward, while the pipe string gets laid to its rear into the water and follows a S-shaped curvature to the seabed. Special equipment will be used at the landfalls in Italy and Albania to ensure that the pipe is pulled ashore with minimum adverse effect to the local environment.

Onshore

The onshore pipeline will be assembled in a conventional way by a construction spread that follows along the pipeline corridor. First a trench is excavated. Then individual 12-meter-long joints of pipe are welded to the pipeline string, which is subsequently lowered into the trench. The soil will be filled back and the landscape reinstated, while the construction spread moves forward. Specialized techniques will be used for crossing of roads and rivers, and special care will be taken to minimize any adverse effect on the environment during the construction.