[ case study ]
C10 after the‘ above water tie-in’( AWTI), connecting the two pipe strings together. Source: StreamTec Solutions AG
Hydrogen-ready
During the design and construction phase, there was no dedicated offshore pipeline code that covered hydrogen transportation, as these were still under development. The ASME B31.12 code provides guidelines for hydrogen pipelines, but it primarily focuses on onshore applications. In the absence of any applicable offshore hydrogen code, STS developed a testing protocol to ensure the pipeline system could be safely used for hydrogen in the future, while the industry catches up with robust guidelines.
The industry shouldn’ t have long to wait. In 2021, DNV initiated the‘ H2Pipe’ Joint Industry Project( JIP) to establish a reliable and robust standard that the industry can adopt. Since the start of this JIP, STS – along with multiple other key industry players – has contributed to the code to ensure it is fit for purpose when it is released, planned for 2025. This comes just in time to meet the increasing demand for offshore hydrogen infrastructure that is planned to come online between now and 2032.
Management style
STS led a joint integrated team with the client to execute the project. A flat organisational structure was adopted to ensure decisions could be made quickly and efficiently. By minimising hierarchical layers and ensuring solid interface management, the project manager and technical leads were given greater autonomy to make decisions in real time, ensuring that bottlenecks and challenges were raised directly and addressed immediately. For more complex challenges, VC coordination meetings were used to reach consensus quickly. When all‘ knowable’ information had been collected, major decisions were usually made within 24 hours – an impressive feat given the procedural red tape that surrounds many projects nowadays.
EPC vs. multiple contractors procurement model
On a typical offshore project, the client may award a single-source contract to an EPC contractor, which will execute the project from start to finish on behalf of the client. This model is not suitable
32 Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 21 | April 2025