Tideway’s IFPS Completed First Project
Tideway has completed its activities for the Deep Panuke Gas Development Project. The project took two months and entails a turnover of EUR 10 million. The company used the new Inclined Fallpipe System (IFPS) for the first time on this project. This technology now renders it possible to operate highly accurately even in the most demanding circumstances. Deep Panuke is a project of the Canadian gas producer EnCana, located off the coast of Novia Scotia.
Demanding Circumstances
The project is based 250 km to the southeast of the Canadian Halifax. The area is characterised by the most demanding circumstances such as mountainous waves and strong currents on the seabed. Pressured by the increasing shortage of energy in the world, the offshore industry is looking for new and alternative sources, which are increasingly frequently to be found at locations that are very difficult to reach. Deep Panuke is an example of this development. The first gas will be transported this year still from Deep Panuke to Goldboro on the mainland via a submarine pipeline.
Accuracy
Tideway was responsible for the stone fill on the seabed around the gas platform and for the protection of pipelines in the area. Thanks to the new IFPS, this work could be done using the 50m long fall pipe with a sufficient degree of accuracy with stone fills up to an accuracy of 01. m. This gives the EnCana platform sufficient stability and ensures that it meets the highest possible safety requirements.
Future
Tideway expects to apply the IFPS also in other ways in the future, for instance for the installation of stones around the foundations of windmills at sea. The high turbines must remain stable, even in the most extreme circumstances and on a difficult seabed. Indeed, the strong
current quickly results in erosion around the legs. The new Tideway precision technology makes it possible to offer more stability under water and consequently more safety.