plugging heads onto the mechanical fittings
and setting them into position, so that gas
could continue flowing through the bypass
lines while maintenance was performed on
the main pipelines. In order to get this done
within Pertamina EP’s timeline, the STOPPLE
plugging operation had to be performed in six
locations at once.
At this critical juncture, the offshore
technicians ran into a problem that almost
delayed them. “We discovered that a piece of
equipment had been damaged during execution,”
recalls Ameen. “We had actually never had a
piece of equipment damaged like that before,
and we didn’t anticipate it.” The project manager
quickly procured a replacement and the project
was able to move forward.
“When subsea, just one hot tap can take
several weeks, including planning,” Ameen
explains. In just 23 days, the team completed all
hot tapping, plugging and isolation of all lines –
a feat that kept Pertamina EP’s project perfectly
on schedule.
With STOPPLE plugging equipment in place,
the pipelines remained safely isolated while the
bypass lines were commissioned and the L-PRO
platform was raised. The entire operation took
only 63 days, keeping safely within Pertamina
EP’s timeline.
How was the team able to pull off the tapping
and plugging operation in such an unprecedented
amount of time? Edmund Ang credits use of the
latest plugging technology.
A SEAL THAT SNAPS INTO PLACE
Plugging the openings where the bypass occurred is
the last phase in a hot tap and plugging operation.
Murky waters, such as those at the Lima flow
station, can complicate an operation, because it’s
difficult for divers to determine exactly when the
I N N O V AT I O N S • A P R I L - J U N E 2 0 1 4
C O V E R S T O R Y
19
1
3
1
FEET
BELOW
SUR FACE
5-MEMBER
DIVING
TEAMS
EQUIPMENT
Shipped in from:
NORTH AMERICA
EUROPE
ASIA PACIFIC
Normal Planning
& Completion
8+
months
SUBSEA
HOT TAP
LIMA Planning
& Completion
4
months
CONTINUED ON PAGE 27
