Bryan Hartman (INTEC Onshore Facilities Business Unit Manager) and Jose Alberto Costa dos Santos (PETROBRAS Project Manager) reviewed the tie-in plans to existing refinery piping facilities at the beginning of the new PE-3 Pipeline. The planned route then proceeds across two sections of Guanabara Bay and two islands before dividing and extending to two fixed offshore tanker berths.

The second island crossed by the proposed alignment, Ilha d’Agua (Water Island in Portuguese) includes a tank farm used in the terminal operations. TRANSPETRO will operate the pipeline from the control room on this island. Glenn Lanan (INTEC Senior Project Manager, on left) and Alex Mayants (INTEC Project Manager) are seen examining the rocky shoreline site for one of the three shore crossings on Ilha D’Agua.

Diego Lamacchia (INTEC Project Engineer) has been stationed in Rio de Janeiro as a Project Technical Coordinator through the detailed design work which coincide with Carnival and peak tourist season. When asked, Diego characterizes the project, people and location as “Otimo!” (great in Portuguese). Even now, with the onset of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, Diego still finds time during the weekends to go to some of the beautiful beaches in and around Rio. The next phase of INTEC’s project work includes construction contracting support, and continued support through procurement, permitting and field construction work.

Currently, the project plans to obtain gas from Natuna Alpha D, where gas reserves in place are estimated to be approximately 222 trillion cubic feet (tcf). Allowing for removal of carbon dioxide, it is estimated that the reservoir contains approximately 46 tcf of sales quality gas. This volume can satisfy two requirements; the supply security into the TRANS ASEAN GAS network, a system of inter and intra pipelines planned to ensure gas supplies to ASEAN countries, and a supply of approximately 2,000 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) to China for at least 25 years.

Studies by INTEC have shown that a pipeline from Natuna Alpha D to the JDA (Joint Development Authority of Malaysia and Thailand) and then to the Nam Con Son area, Danang (Vietnam), Hong Kong, Fuzhou and Shanghai (China) is feasible. It is estimated that a 48-inch diameter pipeline approximately 5,000 km long with several compression facilities along the route will transport 500 mmscfd of sales quality gas to Fuzhou, China and another 1,500 mmscfd to Shanghai, China. The logistics of the pipeline system will be immense, and will create significant opportunities for economic advancement in the region. For example, the project will require 4 million tonnes of steel, 420,000 pipe joints to be coated with anti-corrosion and concrete weight coating and approximately 40,000 joints with sacrificial anodes. A fleet of construction vessels will be required for approximately 4 years to install the pipelines and offshore compression facilities.

The project will now move into feasibility and FEED stages, with a gas delivery date targeted before the end of this decade. This schedule provides for sufficient time to develop the Natuna Alpha D reservoir, and also to manage the logistics of installing a 5,000 km large diameter gas transmission pipeline system.

INTEC is very proud to be associated with the PEG to develop this prestigious international project. Dr. Shafiq Abdullah, CEO of PEG, and Lim Man Onn, the Project Coordinator are the driving forces behind this project. Steve Lee led the INTEC team until his transfer to the INTEC Houston office. The baton has now been passed to Dr. Shahreen Madros, INTEC KL Director, David McKeehan, INTEC Senior Vice President, and Indu Mahendran, INTEC KL General Manager, are key proponents of this project, and attended the Asian Gas Grid Round Table held recently in Kuala Lumpur.

I thank Texaco for my initiation into the offshore industry during my first years after graduating from the University of Nebraska. Going offshore for the first time was quite an experience for a ‘farm boy from Nebraska’. I was thrilled to be part of the design, fabrication and installation team for the first platform installed offshore Texas after the first federal offshore Texas lease sale in 1967/1968, followed by several years in the Texaco Central Offshore Engineering Group located in New Orleans, an exciting historic port city.

I thank Fluor for the opportunity to be part of the design, fabrication and installation team for the world’s first offshore LPG facility located offshore Indonesia. The project included the world’s first LPG FSO system, my beginning in offshore terminal projects and the first of many international assignments. I also want to thank Fluor for the opportunity to be the Engineering and Construction Manager for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) Project, the first deepwater terminal in the United States.

I want to thank Bob Brown for the opportunity to work at RJBA and Associates and help form an Offshore Terminals and Floating Production Systems Group. While at RJBA, I met Willem Timmermans, Jim Gillespie and David McKeehan. After 4 years together at RJBA, we became partners in the formation of INTEC Engineering, my most challenging and rewarding opportunity. After a 21-year association with these three extraordinary individuals, I cannot thank them enough for their unwavering friendship, support and exemplary professionalism.

To all my friends at INTEC, I thank each of you for the time we have spent on numerous projects, for the memories of milestone projects in Taiwan, offshore Western Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. To all my friends in Malaysia, thank you for your support and efforts in helping me establish the INTEC office in Kuala Lumpur. Most of all, I want to thank my wife Karen, who has been at my side through all the ups and downs of the international offshore oil and gas industry, an industry whose challenging projects, world renown companies and exceptional staffs I will fondly remember all the days of my life. Thank you, one and all!

The day of the regatta broke crystal clear with light winds of 3 to 5 knots. Not the best sailing conditions, but good conditions nonetheless. However, just after the starting horn, the wind came up to 12 to 15 knots for the entire race. With favorable wind, there was lots of racing and good fun. Several boats fought back and forth for position throughout the race.

Following the regatta, INTEC hosted a “Shrimp Boil” for all employees at a nearby marina. The atmosphere was great, the sunset was beautiful, and the food was excellent.

If measured by fun and smiles, the INTEC Regatta 2001 was a great success. We had more boats and more crews than the last Regatta in 1999. We had participation from other offices with Delft taking home one of the trophies. There was plenty of food and good company.

In addition to our exhibition booth, three papers were presented by INTEC engineers. Glenn Lanan, John Ennis of BP Exploration, Patrick Egger of Houston Contracting and Kenneth Yockey of Alaska Interstate Construction, participated in the conference by presenting a paper titled “Northstar Offshore Arctic Pipeline Design and Construction,” OTC 13133. “Canyon Express Field Performance Simulation,” OTC 13131, was coauthored by Ravi Gudimetla and Bryan Wallace of Marathon Oil Company. Geir Saether, Ravi Gudimetla and Bryan Wallace presented a paper titled “Canyon Express Slugging and Liquids Handling,” OTC 13073.

The highlight of this event for INTEC was the presentation of the Special Meritorious Award For Engineering Innovation at our booth on April 30, 2000 by Hart’s C&P Magazine to INTEC’s BP Northstar Project Team, represented by Glenn Lanan.