Case study

Baker Hughes, Process & Pipeline Services
delivers for a successful Cameron System 41
pipeline decommissioning“Our team successfully completed
the project without incident, allwhile working with the challenges
of COVID-19 safety protocols andweather-related delays.

BackgroundBy taking advantage of the broad
Baker Hughes’ equipment fleet, theteam was able to complete all of theonshore and offshore tasks required
for this long-duration complex
project, working around the clock toprovide excellent collaboration andcommunication while meeting all
mobilization deadlines to fulfill ourcustomer’s expectations.”

removal of a pipeline from service requires a complex series of properly planned— Stephen Jackson

Baker Hughes PPS Regional Director —USA, Mexico & South America

Decommissioning or abandoning a pipeline is not a simple task, and avoiding
potential leaks is paramount. Important considerations include the pipeline’sconfiguration and condition as well as the possibility of severe weather. The safe
operations that effectively manage all subcontractors and support vessels that

perform multiple scopes of work simultaneously. These daunting challenges were
faced by the Texas Eastern Transmission Limited Partnership (TETLP), a subsidiaryof Enbridge Inc., as it prepared to decommission its Cameron System 41 pipeline
located in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Cameron, Louisiana.

The Cameron pipeline system had been in continuous operation since 1974,

and over the years numerous producer laterals had been connected to it, butmany were abandoned after 2014. The lateral lines converge at Enbridge’s East

Cameron platform, where gas is gathered into the Line 41-A and Line 41-E trunklines,
continuing north for 32 miles to Enbridge’s West Cameron platform. The gas isconsolidated into Line 41, flowing 61 miles north and onshore
to Enbridge’s Grand Chenier Compressor Station (GCCS).

The lateral lines’ diameters range from 12 to 24 inches, while
the Line 41 and Line 41-E trunklines are 30 inches and theLine 41-A trunkline is 24 inches in diameter. From GCCS, the30-inch diameter Line 41 runs an additional 32 miles north toEnbridge’s Iowa, Louisiana, compressor station.

Water could be drawn through the pipeline at near-ambientpressure and processed at the receiving end.

Based on previous success working with senior field

operations staff from Baker Hughes, Enbridge reached out

to our Process & Pipeline Services (PPS) organization to help
make its proposed solution a reality.

Solution
Working closely with Enbridge’s assembly of contractors,

highly skilled and experienced personnel from the PPS teamprovided the resources needed to complete the difficult
project. Using Baker Hughes’ Toolbox™ suite of software

simulator applications, the team accurately calculated

the minimum pig speed requirements. When unfavorable

weather in the Gulf of Mexico led to an unsuccessful attempt
to identify leaks by pumping filtered seawater with dye,

PPS worked with Enbridge’s project team and proposed themobilization of a membrane nitrogen spread to facilitate
subsea leak identification.

During the project, the PPS team met and overcame
multiple project challenges, including limited Diving

Support Vessel (DSV) deck space, restricted access to thecontrol cabin storage compartment, and communications
constraints. Through a HAZID risk analysis, the team

identified project hazards associated with pipeline over-pressurization including the potential for catastrophic failure
if communications were lost during pumping and approved

the necessary procedures for successful project completion.
Baker Hughes PPS proposed a reduced footprint and very

reliable offshore nitrogen and flooding spreads to meet thespace constraints imposed by the DSV.

Sourcing a subsea pump capable of operating safely at therequired 138-foot depth while providing flow rates as highas 1,000 gallons per minute allowed pumping operations

to be performed without pressure buildup in the pipeline,
overcoming the leak issue. Additionally, Baker Hughes
With a design capacity in excess of 850 MMCFD and averagethroughput in 2018 below 20 MMCFD, the system was nolonger viable, and Enbridge decided to shut in the system

prior to the start of system abandonment operations in 2019.

The pipeline system was full of residual fluids, mainly naturalgas.

In addition to the above challenges, protecting theenvironment while controlling cost given the age andcondition of one of the oldest lateral pipelines was aforemost consideration. With the potential for leaks deemedunacceptable, the Enbridge team came up with a solution:

Copyright 2022 Baker Hughes Company. All rights reserved.
22008

09/2022

supplied a high-pressure, large diameter downline suitablefor pumping filtered seawater and membrane nitrogen. The
downline was deployed and recovered multiple times.
To accurately collect field data, including pressure,temperature and flowrate parameters, the team usedBaker Hughes’ Nanoplex™ data acquisition system. Able toreceive multiple inputs from various sources, Nanoplex also
can send data signals, such as a pump shutdown, allowing
it to be used as an over-pressure protection device. The

team added JobMaster™ software, also from Baker Hughes,
to create a powerful datalogger for the project. Final datareports were developed for each pipeline decommissioned inbakerhughes.com

the Cameron System, complete with a summary of events and the collection of all field paperwork generated during pumping

operations. Administrative reports also were provided to Enbridge, showing Baker Hughes’ Quality and HSE performance as well
as daily operations progress throughout the project.

Results

The project’s entire decommissioning spread, including the high-pressure pumping spread, the high-pressure flooding andnitrogen membrane spreads, onshore LN2 pumps and LN2 tanks were provided by Baker Hughes’ existing fleet, significantlyreducing procurement times and hastening project completion. The system was successfully pigged, and residual fluids

were pushed into downstream laterals and then pushed onshore and north of the Grand Chenier Compressor Station (GCCS).
In addition to delivering an effective decommissioning spread along with over-pressure protection and hose/pipe restraint
devices, the PPS team provided the data needed to allow Enbridge to safely decommission its Cameron System pipeline.

The PPS team from Baker Hughes was able to meet the project objective: preparing the nearly 245-mile-long Cameron Systembakerhughes.comconsisting of seven lateral pipelines and three trunklines for abandonment.
According to Stephen Jackson, PPS’ Regional Director — USA, Mexico & South America, the successful decommissioning of theCameron System highlights the exceptional front-end project management and engineering experience that PPS personnel

bring to both offshore and onshore operations. “Our team successfully completed the project without incident, all while working

with the challenges of COVID-19 quarantine protocols and weather-related delays,” Jackson said. “By taking advantage of thebroad Baker Hughes’ equipment fleet, the team was able to complete all of the onshore and offshore tasks required for thislong-duration complex project, working around the clock to provide excellent collaboration and communication while meetingall mobilization deadlines to fulfill our customer’s expectations.”

Copyright 2022 Baker Hughes Company. All rights reserved.
22008

09/2022bakerhughes.com