Saipem has launched its new sustainable technology for subsea pipelaying which considerably reduces environmental impacts on the seabed. The “underwater cold bending” technology was presented this week during the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.
The underwater cold bending technology – a new subsea pipelaying method patented by Saipem – makes it possible to form vertical cold bends in the pipeline in a strictly controlled way and underwater by means of a specially designed remotely operated underwater bending machine. Because the bends are created when the pipeline is about to be positioned on the seabed, there is no interruption to regular pipelaying operations.
This innovative technology optimises the pipelay process in correspondence of sharp slopes or escarpments, where the site conditions are typically so critical as to present serious design concerns and which require massive seabed preparation works with heavy environmental impact.
Compared to the traditional approach, the underwater cold bending method represents a safe, sustainable and economic solution and guarantees the maximum integrity and safety of the pipeline throughout its life cycle.
