British Standards Institute (BSI) has published the first British standard exclusively for subsea pipelines.
BS 8010, the Code of Practice for Pipelines, Part 3 provides recommendations of design, construction, installation, testing, and commissioning of subsea pipelines constructed from steel and metal-reinforced polymers.
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Part 3, the standard states, applies to subsea pipelines intended for "conveyance of hydrocarbon liquids, hydrocarbon and other gases, liquids and gases in two-phase flow, fluid-based slurries and water."
Sections in the standard include such topics as quality assurance, materials, corrosion, jointing, and pressure testing.
This standard was initially drafted in 1986 by JP Kenny, the U.K.-based oil and gas subsea engineering group. Its publication follows extensive public and industry review and revision, according to JP Kenny.
Previously, national standards were based primarily on U.S., Dutch, and Norwegian practices, says the company. Such previously applied specific design factors for subsea pipeline engineering were not significantly altered, says JP Kenny, but safety, security, and the environment were important considerations in the initial draft.
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Other parts of BS 8010 are Part 1 Pipelines on land: general; Part 2 Pipelines on land: design, construction and installation; and Part 4 Pipelines on land and subsea: operation and maintenance.
Copies of British Standard publications are available to members and nonmembers through its offices in Milton Keynes, U.K.
Copyright 1993 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
