PLANNING FOR ALGERIA-SPAIN GAS LINE ADVANCES

Detail design work on the Strait of Gibraltar section of a gas pipeline from Algeria to Spain has begun under a $160 million contract let by Spain's state company Enagas. Twin 20 in. lines of the proposed Mahgreb-Europe pipeline will carry gas from Sonatrach's Hassi R'Mel field in Algeria to the gas grid in southern Spain. Start-up is scheduled for 1995. Design and procurement for the 30 mile sea crossing will be carried out by J.P. Kenny & Partners, Staines, U.K., and

March 8, 1993

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Detail design work on the Strait of Gibraltar section of a gas pipeline from Algeria to Spain has begun under a $160 million contract let by Spain's state company Enagas.

Twin 20 in. lines of the proposed Mahgreb-Europe pipeline will carry gas from Sonatrach's Hassi R'Mel field in Algeria to the gas grid in southern Spain. Start-up is scheduled for 1995.

Design and procurement for the 30 mile sea crossing will be carried out by J.P. Kenny & Partners, Staines, U.K., and Internacional de Ingeniera y Estudios Tecnicos SA, Madrid, in a 16 month project that began Mar. 1.

Water depths to 1,300 ft, strong currents across the seabed, and exposed areas of bed rock are among the problems the engineering team faces.

Complex patterns of currents created by the collision of cold Atlantic water with the warmer Mediterranean Sea will challenge pipelay teams. The currents also prevent sand from settling in many sections of the crossing, which means spanning will be a problem for pipeline designers.

Kenny completed preliminary design of the pipelines in cooperation with French engineers Sofregaz, Paris, and Beicip, Rueil-Malmaison. This included route evaluation and pipeline/seabed behavior.

Although a route corridor across the strait was identified, details of landing sites must be worked out with Spanish and Algerian authorities.