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Since 2004 a Joint Industry Project (JIP) has been in operation to develop the capability to repair pipelines in water depths from 1,000 to 10,000 feet seawater. The first Phase of the JIP identified and evaluated diverless pipeline repair methods and available repair tools (leak clamps and connectors). The second Phase consisted of qualification testing a novel low-CAPEX method of using structural repair clamps as connectors to affect a spool piece repair.

This paper shows details of how Hurricanes Katrina and Rita impacted the thinking of the JIP participants on repair methods and tools, and led to the recent formation of DW RUPE Repair Tools, a Co-Ownership Group consisting of four founding co-owners – Enterprise Partners, Enbridge, BP and ENI - for purchasing and storing $12-million in repair system components for emergency call-out. The tools and equipment will be ready for call-out by September 2008. The Co-Ownership group is open to new members.

 

The RUPE in DW RUPE stands for "Response to Underwater Pipeline Emergencies", and is patterned after the shallow-water RUPE Repair Tools Co-Ownership Project that has been in operation for 30 years, and now has over 30 co-owners worldwide.