Cofferdam construction in the Netherlands!

After last year’s successful adventure in Sakhalin, Russia, we were again approached for a cofferdam construction for a undersea pipeline landfall, but this time in our home country! Projects of this kind do not come along every day in the Netherlands, so we were delighted to receive the request from Boskalis Offshore, and ultimately to win the job. According to plan we will start installing the various constructions in March. The gas pipeline landfall is planned for 14 July, after which we will dismantle the construction. The entire construction is expected to have been removed by the end of October. The new gas pipeline has to be complete in late 2006 for the first gas transport from the Netherlands to England.

A pipeline from England is to come ashore in the Netherlands as part of the BBL project. This project involves laying 235 kms of gas pipeline (92 cm diameter) between Bacton (UK) and Balgzand (NL) on behalf of BBL Company (which includes Gasunie). The main contractor for laying the pipeline is Saipem, while Boskalis Offshore is the contractor for the dredging work and the pipe landfall at Julianadorp in North Holland.

The cofferdam will extend for a maximum of 285 metres into the North Sea, with wings of 35 metres each. An auxiliary bridge of the same length will be constructed of Treadway elements for logistical reasons. Besides this main cofferdam, a smaller 70-metre cofferdam will be constructed on the beach, which will link the landfall site with the point where the pipeline tunnels under the dunes. A flood protection pit will be constructed for the winch installation and the drill for the dune tunnel.

A gas pipeline from Bacton in England will come ashore near Julianadorp in the Netherlands. The pipeline will be part of the European gas network. The contract for the construction is from the BBL Company, a consortium of NV Nederlandse Gasunie, Ruhrgas Germany and Fluxys Belgium.

There are several reasons for laying the gas pipeline.

• England will have insufficient energy resources in the next few years to satisfy its domestic demand. By its own estimates, England will have to import as much as 45% of its gas requirement in 2012.
• From a European perspective, driven by the EU, it is vital to have a satisfactory electricity and gas network in Europe. In this framework the Balgzand-Bacton Pipeline, the second gas pipeline link with England, is to be laid as a high priority.
• As a gas supplier, the Netherlands also has an economic interest in the business and employment opportunities.
• Gasunie operates the gas distribution network in the Netherlands and was contracted in 2002 to supply 80 billion m3 of gas to the UK for a 10-year period.

Look on www.bblcompany.nl for additional information.

Click here for additional information about progress on this project .