OTC 21259--MEIDP - The Deep Sea Gas Route to India

摘要

High pressure trunk lines have proved to be the safest and cheapest way of transporting gas to market for short to medium distances up to 2,500 kilometers, making the proposed SAGE Middle East to India Deepwater Pipeline the optimal solution for gas delivery to the Indian Subcontinent. Linking the Middle East gas fields with India across the Arabian Sea for an offshore distance of 1300 kilometers, the SAGE gas transmission pipeline is designed to transport up to 1.1BCFD gas into the Indian energy markets. This paper will present details of recent studies that have enhanced the technical and commercial feasibility of the SAGE system, which will reach a record water depth of 3400m, cross two continental slopes, an earthquake subduction zone (deepsea trench) and outfall debris of the river Indus fan. The economic and socio-political drivers for such a project will be presented together with future schedule for first Gas. The current design status will be reviewed and the challenges faced by the project from both a design and installation perspective will be presented. As a project that builds from the Oman-India project of the 1990’s with the changes in risk profile, in terms of industry and vessel readiness, will be reviewed and the status of the next generation of installation vessels to install such a pipeline will be presented.