Into the blue ...
All over the world, steel pipes made by Mannesmann enjoy a reputation of top quality and precision – the best prerequisite for ensuring a stable and secure energy supply. In July 2023, HFI-welded steel pipes embarked on their 10,000 km journey from Siegen to Douala for a pipeline off the coast of Cameroon.
To boost its economic development in the long term, Cameroon is endeavoring to increase the production, monetisation and exploitation of its 200 million barrels of crude oil reserves and 4.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The aim is, firstly, to improve energy access and availability locally and throughout the region and, secondly, regular income from exported energy is an important factor in the national budget. However, the expansion of offshore production capacities requires a high level of technical expertise and suitably high investment. Cameroon is seeking to address both challenges by awarding development and production concessions in the medium and long term.
Project partner Perenco
With many years of experience in oil business with Cameroon, the energy company Perenco signed a 20-year production sharing agreement with the Cameroonian national oil and gas company Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) in mid-2023 for the further development of the Rio del Rey basin off the coast of the West African country.
With an average production of 35,000 barrels of oil per day, the production field accounts for around 70 per cent of Cameroon’s total oil production. Perenco’s aim is to further develop and increase production rates in the oil sector and to transfer the technology to natural gas production so as to produce exportable LNG going forward.
Saving time and money
Mannesmann Line Pipe has manufactured around 650 HFI-welded steel pipes with a diameter of 323.9 mm and a wall thickness of 12.7 mm for a nearly 16 km long offshore oil pipeline planned by Perenco off the coast of Cameroon since 2022. The pipes were manufactured in March 2023 and then fitted with the Zap-Lok™ ends on site in Siegen by a team of employees from NOV Tuboscope in Gladbeck. Each pipe has a bell end and a pin end. During later installation, the pin end is coated with a two-component epoxy compound and then pressed into the bell end.
The Zap-Lok™ joint developed and patented by NOV Tuboscope enables a weld- and X-ray-free, semi-autonomous laying process both onshore and offshore. This significantly reduces the time and money spent on pipe laying.
The production of Zap-Lok™ pipes requires a high degree of precision and experience along with compliance with the tightest manufacturing tolerances. However, thanks to our long-established collaboration with the NOV Tuboscope team, the entire process went off like clockwork.«Valentina Berger, Mannesmann Line Pipe Business Area Manager Sales
Pipe production calls for compliance with the tightest manufacturing tolerances.
Precision, experience and teamwork
"The production of Zap-Lok™ pipes requires a high degree of precision and experience along with compliance with the tightest manufacturing tolerances. However, thanks to our long-established collaboration with the NOV Tuboscope team, the entire process went off like clockwork," says Valentina Berger, who was involved in the project on behalf of Mannesmann Line Pipe right from the start. "Most importantly, we were able to build on our positive joint experience, as recently gathered in the offshore Zap-Lok™ project in Malaysia."
After HFI welding, the pipes were first given an epoxy resin lining in Gladbeck before being transported back to Siegen for a 3 mm thick PE rough coating.
Piecemeal logistics
Although Mannesmann Line Pipe has a quota of around 90 special freight cars from Deutsche Bahn and the port of Antwerp actually has sufficient storage capacity, overall handling had to be planned again and again. The actual aim was, of course, to organise and deliver the entire shipment in a single batch. However, due to bottlenecks in rail car availability and the fact that the time and place of loading at the port of Antwerp were unclear until the last moment, the pipes had to be delivered in several instalments.
Nils Schmidt monitored proper handling during loading and the safe storage of around 650 HFI-welded Zap-Lok™ pipes in the ship.
Extensive on-site checks
To make sure everything went smoothly during dispatch, Mannesmann Line Pipe employee Nils Schmidt was on site. "At first, the situation was a little confusing and we didn’t even know the name of the ship until the very end," he recalls. "So once again, it was important for us to gain our own impression directly on site."
In addition to verifying that the consignment was in perfect condition and complete, he also checked compliance with all handling regulations when the Zap-Lok™ pipes were loaded onto the ship.
On 25 July 2023, they set off on their 10,000 km voyage into the blue, arriving safely in the port of Douala around three weeks later.