The 590 km Mangala to Salaya Pipeline runs between the Mangala Processing Terminal (MPT) and Salaya, and forms a section of the 24 inch diameter, 670 km Mangala to Bhogat oil pipeline. Proposed by a joint venture between Cairn India and ONGC to extend from the MPT, Rajasthan, to Bhogat in Gujarat, the pipeline runs via the districts of Jalore, Banaskantha, Patan, Ahmedabad, Surendranagar, Rajkot, and Jamnagar.

Cairn India has been exploring hydrocarbon resources in the state of Rajasthan for more than ten years. The pipeline was conceived in 2005 to facilitate the early production from these fields, and JP Kenny was engaged to complete a concept design.

The Mangala to Salaya section commenced construction in July 2008, and was completed in December 2009. The Salaya to Bhogat section of the pipeline is still to be constructed. Approvals and land purchase have been completed and construction is to commence shortly.

The unique nature of the Rajasthan crude requires the pipeline to be heated to ensure the continuous flow of oil. To achieve this 35 intermediate power feeding/heating stations, each with a capacity of 1 MW, have been constructed at 20 km intervals along the length of the pipeline.

Captive power facilities are located at all heating stations and at the oil terminals at Viramgam and Bhogat in Gujarat.

A skin-effect, heat-tracing system has been installed along the periphery of the pipeline. A polyurethane foam insulation system with a high density polyethylene jacket has also been installed around the crude oil pipeline to prevent heat loss from the pipeline to the environment.

Other works associated with the pipeline include an 8 inch diameter gas line, running parallel to the pipeline along most of its length, starting from the Raageshwari gas field in the Rajasthan Block. Storage, handling and pumping stations are located at the Viramgam terminal along with a diluent mixing facility at the Bhogat terminal.

Sourcing locally

“This is the first project of its kind in the country and possibly one of the most challenging undertaken in the world,” said a Cairn India spokesperson. “Nearly 80 per cent of the contracts to construct the pipeline have been awarded to Indian companies.”

The integrated engineering, procurement and construction contract for the pipeline was carried out by Larson & Toubro, while the pipes have come from the Jindal Saw Mill at Mudra. Certain sections of the pipeline were constructed by Punj Lloyd to ensure faster execution and optimum utilisation of resources.

More than 4,000 contractor personnel have been employed on the project.

“The pipeline project activities provide employment to persons of different skills and trades. The local population is being given preference regarding employment. During construction of the project, temporary employment to unskilled and semi-skilled labourers was provided. During the operational phase, we plan to develop and train local community members to provide services such as security, administration and maintenance,” the Cairn India spokesperson continued.

Challenges

The Managala to Bhogat Pipeline corridor traverses two states and eight districts and required the acquisition of approximately 670 km of right-of-way (RoW), involving the daunting task of impinging on the land of nearly 50,000 landowners. Cairn India put in place a dedicated team to address social issues and gain the support of the locals residing along the length of the pipeline route. Programmes were undertaken to educate stakeholders about the significance of the project and various measures that are being taken to protect the asset.

Other issues identified included the movement of heavy machinery in remote areas, weather-related issues such as water-logging in the pipeline trench, and overcoming the challenges of major river, canal, rail, and road crossings. Each crossing was unique: some of the river crossings contained water, while others were dry except in the monsoon season. In addition, some of the canals crossed were unlined whereas others had bed and banks protected with boulder-pitched cement lining. Railway crossings included single and double tracks, and the road crossings included all types of minor and major district roads, as well as state and national highways.

The majority of the crossings also involved crossing existing utilities, including optical fibre cables, power lines, and drainage ditches around the RoW of the facility to be crossed. Third-party pipelines to be crossed included water and hydrocarbon pipelines, both in and out of service.

All major road, railway and canal crossings were undertaken using an auger-boring machine. “These obstacles, combined with a tight project schedule, strict statutory requirements, inaccessibility of the crossing sites, and extreme weather conditions, coupled with the desired safety and integrity of pipelines, posed a major challenge for both the design and construction teams” the Cairn India spokesperson said.

Hot to go

At the time of writing, commissioning of the Mangala to Salaya Pipeline section was underway, and construction activity at the Viramgam Terminal, the 35 above-ground installations, and the Salaya Terminal were all at an advanced stage.

Cairn India said that approvals for the Salaya to Bhogat Pipeline section had been obtained and the necessary land purchase had been completed. Bhogat lies on the Gujarat coast and provides further flexibility in terms of future offtake volumes.

“Previous modes of oil transportation, including road transport, have been susceptible to the vagaries of poor roads, traffic congestion, and shortages. This generally results in interrupted supplies of the hydrocarbons to the consumers. The pipeline, once commissioned, will ensure an uninterrupted availability of these products to the market, in the required quantity at the required place and at the required time,” Cairn India said. “Transportation of crude oil by pipeline is comparatively less costly than by other modes of transport, both in terms of capital and operating costs. If a good network of pipelines is implemented throughout the country, this will ensure that there are cost savings in transporting crude.”