Boskalis takes Horizon for challenging section in Batam-Singapore pipeline

Dutch dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster nv has chartered Horizon Offshore's combination pipelay/derrick barge Sea Horizon for the installation of a 10-kilometer pipeline section from international waters off the Indonesian island of Batam to Singapore, Upstream Online reported Friday.

The installation job, though modest in scope, is perhaps the most challenging part of the 215-kilometre, 28-inch pipeline project that will transport natural gas from South Sumatra to the Lion City, under a gas sales agreement signed between Indonesia's state oil company Pertamina and Singapore's PowerGas in February 2001.

The pipeline will run north-west to Sakernan and then north-east to Kuala Tungkal before reaching international waters via Batam and Pemping Island.

The 10-kilometer section from the international border to Pulau Sakra off south-west Singapore needs to be laid in a trench and covered by armored rock to protect it against the heaviest shipping traffic in South-east Asia.

Furthermore, the entire operation needs to conform to the strict standards of the powerful Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, which is tasked by the government with safeguarding the republic's maritime and port interests.

Boskalis successfully negotiated the turnkey engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contract with PowerGas in 1999. (*)