Page 29 - Pipelines and Risers

Introduction 3

1. Conceptual Engineering

The primary objectives are normally:

- To establish technical feasibility and constraints on the system design and construction;
- To eliminate non viable options;
- To identify the required information for the forthcoming design and construction;
- To allow basic cost and scheduling exercises to be performed;
- To identify interfaces with other systems planned or currently in existence.

The value of the early engineering work is that it reveals potential difficulties and areas where
more effort may be required in the data collection and design areas.

2. Preliminary engineering or basic engineering

The primary objectives are normally:

- Perform pipeline design so that system concept is fixed. This will include:

To verify the sizing of the pipeline;
Determining the pipeline grade and wall thickness;
Verifying the pipeline against design and code requirements for installation,
commissioning and operation;

- Prepare authority applications;

- Perform a material take off sufficient to order the linepipe (should the pipe fabrication be
a long lead item, hence requiring early start-up)

The level of engineering is sometimes specified as being sufficient to detail the design for
inclusion into an “Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation” (EPCI) tender.
The EPCI contractor should then be able to perform the detailed design with the minimum
number of variations as detailed in their bid.

3. Detail engineering

The detailed engineering phase is, as the description suggests, the development of the design
to a point where the technical input for all procurement and construction tendering can be
defined in sufficient detail.