REPURPOSING OF BUNDLES
Industry
Petro Chemical
Service
Petro Chemical
Expertise
Petro Chemical
Background
The first bundle was installed in the North Sea in 1980 and since then more than 70 bundles have been installed. A lot of these bundles are now nearing the end of their life and would need to be decommissioned or repurposed.
Currently most Bundles are cleaned and left on the seabed or would need to be either rock dumped or pilled to the seedbed.
Challenges
Bundles are large generally and have towheads at the ends which requires the pipe sections to be cut from the towheads to decommission the bundles. Its also difficult to lift the pieces out for which they need to be cut in to smaller sections which is seen as uneconomical by most operators. Their location is offshore subsea which makes it challenging to access the bundles.
Outcomes
- Cygnas was able to devise a novel strategy of utilising bundles for storing hydrogen that can be
generated by offshore windfarms in the vicinity. - A tool was developed to shorlist potential bundles that can be economical and generate revenue using
hydrogen storage subsea
An example of leaving the bundle on the seafloor is the Leadon Bundle. Repurposing bundles have been looked at and at the moment there are proposals including relocation to reuse bundles in other locations. Cygnas was approached by the National Subsea Centre to look at innovative ways to repurpose bundles.
