Pipeline Construction

7. Skidding the pipe before being welded, line pipe is lifted onto skids made of timber and stockpiles along the ROW so that the entire circumference is accessible.

8. Welding – the work here assumes use of automatic welding to join the sections of line pipe, which provides consistency,uniform welds and fewer repairs. To prepare the line pipe for automatic welding, a bevelingand facing machine trims, cuts and grinds the pipe ends with the special edge preparation required by the process. Line pipe comes from the pipe mill with a standard edge preparation or with a plain end if the pipe is specially ordered for automatic welding.

9. Line-up, internal welding – a series of pneumatically operated pistons radially spaced around the internal clamp centers the joints and correctly aligns the pipe ends for welding. The first welding pass is made with the internal welding torches and is called the “root”; this is the primary strength weld that fuses the two pipes.

10. External welding (firing line back end) – the external torches make the next welding pass (hot pass). Together the root and hot passes provide the required fusion and strength to join the pipes permanently. The remainder of the weld passes (fill passes) is made from the outside. The final welding pass (cap) completes the weld and forms a cap over the bevel. The number of welding stations for the automatic welding crew varies depending upon the wall thickness of the line pipe.

11. Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) – is often the preferred method for constructing the pipeline across such obstacles as streams or wetlands.

12. Non-destructive testing (NDT) after welding the joints are inspected by non-destructive methods to verify weld integrity. How many welds are inspected varies depending on the code to which the pipeline is designed, the service of the pipeline (gas or oil products), its location (environmentally sensitive areas, highly populated areas or other risk factors) and the requirements of the pipeline owner. Inspection of 100% of the welds is not uncommon. Customary inspection is by internal X-ray, external gamma ray or ultrasonics.

14. Padding, lowering and backfilling – welded strings of pipe vary in length depending on the terrain conditions but are typically hundreds of feet long. Before the pipe strings are lowered into the ditch, selected padding, usually sand, is placed on the ditch bottom to cushion the pipe. In rocky soil, the fill may be placed around and on top of the pipe (shading). A fleet of sidebooms lifts the string off the timber skids and lowers it into the ditch. The sidebooms use special slings that cradle the pipe on rollers allowing the sideboom to travel down the ROW as the pipe slides into the ditch. The ditch spoil is pushed back into the ditch to cover the pipe except for certain sections that must be left uncovered to make tie-in welds and allow for hydrostatic testing.

16.Hydrostatic testing, final tie-in – the pipeline is filled with water until the internal pressure in the pipeline exceeds the internal pressure to which the line will be subjected during operation. The elevation profile of the pipeline determines the lengths of the hydrostatic test sections because elevation changes affect the internal pressure. Water for hydrostatic testing is typically taken from rivers and lakes along ROW. Dry areas may require a well to be drilled or water to be delivered by truck along the ROW. After sections have been hydrostatically tested, they are joined with a manual tie-in weld. These final welds are NDT inspected. After hydrostatic testing and final tie-in, open sections of the ditch are filled in.

17. Final clean-up, ROW restoration – grading the ROW smooth and clear, placing marker signs to identify the pipeline location, repairing any fences or other structures temporarily removed for construction and seeding the soil to reintroduce vegetation are the final activities. Special attention is paid to drainage and erosion control so that ROW, with time, is restored as closely as possible to its pre-construction while allowing access for regular visual inspections.