Relocation of a cooling pipeline
Client
Nuclear Research Group Petten (NRG) Contract
UAV-GC (EPC) Project
Relocation of a cooling pipeline for NRG Petten Location
Petten, the Netherlands Period August - October 2013
To strengthen a number of weak links in the Dutch coastline, by means of sand supplementation, the beach near Petten will be raised to three meters above sea level and extended 700 meters. For the cooling of their installation, Nuclear Research Group Petten (NRG) uses a water cooling system which flows out on the beach. To prevent that the opening of the outlet disappears under the sand A.Hak Drillcon has been asked to relocate the cooling pipe about 1 kilometer into the North Sea. Consulting engineering firm Lievense already arranged necessary permits and gave technical and legal advice for this project since 2011. The UAV-GC (EPC) contract was awarded to A.Hak Drillcon. A.Hak Drillcon will execute the project together with its sister company A.Hak West.
Minimal inconvenience
INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY
The line of dunes are part of the primary flood defence of the Netherlands. Due to the storm season no excavation work could take place between the 1st of October and the 15th of April. The protected species of birds that live in the dunes, such as the wheatear, were also to be taken into account. Furthermore, the new outlet had to be connected to the existing pipeline during the planned reactor shutdown in August. A.Hak Drillcon engineered an innovative and sustainable solution which involves the manufacturing of a special plastic pipe in a single length of 1.000 meters in Norway. With tug boats the pipe is transported from Surnadal Norway over sea to Petten in the Netherlands. The pipe is completely recyclable and is made of a material with a guaranteed lifetime of 50 years. At the start of the drilling operations A.Hak Drillcon employees built a temporary sheet pile wall and prepared the 150 ton drill rig. A connection is made from the entry point on the beach to the exit point at sea. At sea a 60 ton drill rig is placed upon a jack-up barge to assist in drilling the tunnel. RESPECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
To reduce the inconvenience to the surroundings to a minimum, several measures have been taken. A lot of attention is given to the jobsite; the access road was bordered by a fence that was partly fitted with noisereducing barriers to reduce noise into the Natura 2000 site Pettemer Dunes, North Sea and the surrounding area. No welding activities took place on the beach so flora and fauna were not disturbed. By using ‘forward reaming’ technology the drilling mud was contained on the beach. On the exit side at sea, a pit was dredged with a mud return duct to transport the small amounts of drilling mud for reuse. As a result of intensive collaboration between the client NRG, consulting engineering firm Lievense, sister companies A.Hak Drillcon and A.Hak West it was possible to create a technical masterpiece in time and reduce the inconvenience to the surroundings to a minimum. Engelseweg 159 5705 AD Helmond POSTAL ADDRESS A.Hak Drillcon B.V. PO Box 715 T +31 (0)492 345 600 F +31 (0)492 345 601
For more footage:
ADDRESS
WWW.A-HAKDRILLCON.NL
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5700 AS Helmond drillcon@a-hak.nl
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