As oil and gas operations move into the Arctic, a number of new challenges are arising due to ice interaction with surface and subsea offshore installations. In relation to pipelines, existing design approaches may be too expensive, technologically limited or uncertain to acceptably manage the increased risk to safety and the environment. DNV is therefore inviting the industry to a Joint Industry Project which will establish a common practice to address these challenges.

Pipelines associated with Arctic fields will often need to be located in areas where there is ice-seabed interaction due to ridges and stamukhi. Hence, the large ice-interaction loads are a threat to the pipeline and a risk to safety and the environment. Deep trenching is expensive and sometimes impracticable, and there is often uncertainty whether the final design gives an acceptably low level of risk. Current approaches using pipeline design criteria and probabilistic design are variable, and there is a need for greater design consensus that will enable more designers to be able to work in this specialist area.

DNV is therefore proposing a Joint Industry Project (JIP) aimed at evaluating and presenting design methods and recommendations specifically related to the installation, operation and maintenance of offshore pipelines in areas of extreme cold and ice. The final result will be published as the Recommended Practice (RP) for ‘Arctic Offshore Pipelines’.

“Operators, regulators, designers, pipeline contractors, specialists, research institutions and universities are invited to participate in the JIP, both through funding and through work-in-kind contributions,” says Catherine Jahre-Nilsen, DNV’s project manager.