Gas pipeline repair to start
Shell Taranaki is about to start major repairs to a troublesome gas pipeline off the Taranaki coast.
The company will replace a section of the Pohokura offshore pipeline and lift a valve onto the Pohokura offshore platform, one kilometre from the coast, north of New Plymouth.
A specialised sub sea vessel, Skandi Singapore, has been contracted to undertake the work, and a further investigation of the damaged Pohokura pipeline during the next two months, Shell Taranaki general manager Rob Jager said.
Work on the pipeline will be dependent on weather and sub sea visibility, Jager said.
The 10.8km undersea pipeline – which carries up to 13 million cubic metres a day of gas and gas condensate onshore, including to the nearby methanol facility Methanex – was shut down for four months this year after a leak was discovered. The shutdown stopped gas and condensate production from the offshore platform limiting up to 40 per cent of natural gas supply to North Island customers. Pohokura supplies almost half of the North Island’s natural gas needs.
It is estimated the shutdown had cost Methanex $2 million a day in lost production.
The leak was repaired in July and a decision made to replace the damaged section.
The 3730 tonne Norwegian built Skandi Singapore, which measures the length of a rugby field, left Port Taranaki yesterday afternoon after a three-day stay.
The ship has worked in the Taranaki region twice before, but not for Shell Taranaki.
It is primarily used in offshore construction projects, and as a dive support vessel.
A 500m exclusion zone remained around the pipeline and offshore platform. All boat owners have been asked to stay clear of the vessel.