JPE - Sept09 - cover2-4.pmd - Pipes & Pipelines International ...

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Fig.1. The planned route of the Nord Stream project.
approximately 70% of the first pipeline’s pipes have already
been manufactured. Eupec Pipe Coatings of France will
provide the complete pipe logistical and supply services,
including the concrete weight coating of the pipes. Two
brand-new concrete-coating plants have been built to service
the vast quantity of pipe, one at Mukran on the island
Rugen, Germany, and one at Kotka in the Gulf of Finland.
The Baltic Sea is a highly-sensitive ecological region and, as
a result, Nord Stream AG has carried out extensive and
detailed environmental impact studies and environmental
planning to ensure that the design, installation, and
operation of the pipeline will be environmentally sound.
Construction of pipeline 1 (the North West line) is planned
to start in April, 2010, with first gas expected by September,
2011. The full transport capacity of approximately 55 bcm/
yr will be available on completion of pipeline 2 (the South
East line) in November, 2012.
Technical aspects/data
System design
The pipeline has been designed in accordance with DNV
OS-F101 2000, Rules for submarine pipeline systems, including
the January, 2003, Amendment and corrections. Additionally,
in Germany the DIN - EN 14161 Petroleum and natural gas
industries: pipeline transportation systems (ISO 13623:2000
modified) code has also been satisfied due to authority
requirements. However, should DIN EN 14161 and the
DNV F101 code be in contradiction with each other, then
the DNV code takes priority.
Each of the pipelines will have a transport capacity of
approximately 27.5 bcm/yr of natural gas at reference
conditions of 20°C and 1atm, and the system’s design life
is 50 years.
The Journal of Pipeline Engineering
The pipeline system’s limits are defined as between the pig
launcher and the pig receiver at the Russian and German
landfalls, respectively.
The fundamental design of the Nord Stream pipelines was
based on several factors, including the steady-state and
transient flow operating conditions and overall
environmental, economic, and commercial optimization.
This resulted in dividing the pipeline’s overall length of
1,223km into three MAOP (maximum allowable operating
pressure) sections, as shown in Table 1.
Pipe data
Sample issue
• nominal size = DN 48in (DN1200)
• constant internal diameter ID = 1,153mm
• pipes with longitudinally-welded seams (submergedarc
welding) with an individual pipe length of
approximately 12.2m
• pipe material SAWL 485 I DF according to DNV
standard OS-F101 with the following characteristic
values:
minimum yield strength = 485N/mm²
modulus of elasticity = 2.07 x 10 5 N/mm²
transverse contraction number = 0.3
thermal expansion coefficient = 1.16 x 10 -5 /°C
density = 7,850 kg/m³
External coating
The three-layer anti-corrosion coating was designed in
accordance with ISO 21809-1 External coatings for buried or
submerged pipelines used in pipeline transportation systems.
Designed to a minimum thickness of 4.2mm, it consists of:
• first layer: approximately 0.15mm of FBE (fusionbonded
epoxy)