Corpus Christi, TX has always relied heavily on the oil and gas industry. Its prime location on Corpus Christi Bay, access to smooth Gulf waters and beautiful waterfront access has made Corpus a strong candidate for expansion. In the last 15 years Corpus Christi has seen an increase in industrial construction and services unlike any in the area. With the inevitable growth, there has been a tremendous increase in the need for a deeper, wider, more accessible port of entry. Thus, The Channel Improvement Project was created to include pipeline removal as a critical task.
This project’s entire purpose was to bring The Port of Corpus Christi (POCC), and all its entities, into the forefront as an industry leader in capabilities. With the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin no more than a few hours away, The POCC provides a premier logistics location for movement of their products from these regions. To provide superior service, the channel needed to be widened and deepened, but there were many obstacles in the way of doing so. One of which was a series of product lines running through the middle of Corpus Christi Bay. The CCSC Pipeline Removal Project became vital to the continued expansion of the ship channel.
In October 2023 SR Trident, Inc. was contracted for the removal of these three product lines, which totaled nearly 6,000 linear feet, and granted only 180 days to complete this task. Removing these lines was vital in keeping the Channel Improvement Project on schedule and operations of The POCC open. Tasked with a tight window to complete the work, unpredictable weather conditions and a work schedule that was best characterized as “contingent”, SR Trident set to work.
In order to begin removing the 6,000 feet of product lines, SR Trident had to locate the lines, ensure the lines were decommissioned, clean any residual product in the lines, then begin the removal process. This entire project was required to be performed over water, in the open bay, and in weather conditions which were not always favorable. With those factors in mind, safety becomes a great concern and SR Trident’s Safety & Project Managers devised a plan on how to safely remove the pipe, without putting our crew in harm’s way or putting The Bay’s pristine water and wildlife at risk.
Once the safety plan was approved and major markers were established along each line, SR Trident could begin the cleaning process of these lines. The 10” natural gas line proved to be an easy pigging process as all launching and receiving points were intact and accessible for smooth launch and retrieval. While we had difficulty locating the 4” line, once it was located and verified, it was determined there was no cleaning needed for this line. The 16” crude oil line proved a little more difficult to accomplish the cleaning, in preparation for removal. This line had multiple weak spots and no steady point to launch or receive a pig on the South end, so SR Trident was unable to send a pig safely and securely through the line as it set. We quickly devised a plan to fabricate our own receiving station. We lifted the line onto the barge, safely made a cold cut in the line and placed a flange on the pipe. SR Trident was able to fabricate a receiving station on our barge, while in the bay, and send the pig through the line.
To safeguard against any residual chemical and/or product being accidentally released into the bay during pipeline removal, SR Trident took considerable pride in ensuring the lines were thoroughly cleaned, often going above and beyond the requirements set forth. In doing so, SR Trident could confidently begin the removal process of the lines in a safe and environmentally conscious manner.
When SR Trident could begin removing the lines and our Marine Division did what they are exceptional at, the process began to move quickly. There were, however, some lines that were covered with burring and concrete that made removal quite challenging. An extremely challenging aspect of the Pipeline Removal project arose midway through as The POCC was receiving an extremely high volume of ship traffic in and out of the channel. As mentioned before, a sizable portion of this pipeline runs directly through the middle of the channel so in order o keep the channel open without disruption to ship schedule and project schedule, SR Trident decided on implementation of a night shift work schedule. This allowed uninhibited access to the channel for SR Trident and continued activity for the POCC during the day. Once all safety plans and proper arrangements were granted, SR Trident took to removing the old pipelines again.
After the struggle of finding the lines, cleaning the lines, work shift schedule change, and over 60 days of weather delays, SR Trident safely and successfully removed 1,980 feet of 4” line, 1,980 feet of 10” line and 1,980 feet of 16” line, some of which was buried 28 feet below the surface bay floor. SR Trident dredged 70,000 cubic yards of sea bottom to safely and securely access and remove all lines from the bay during the project. The removal of these lines will allow The Channel Improvement Project to continue as planned.
Corpus Christi and the surrounding areas will benefit from the enhancements once the project is complete. While The POCC is currently the 3rd largest in US total waterborne tonnage, 2nd in LNG exports, and 1st in crude oil exports, the deeper and wider ship channel will allow larger vessels into the port, thus stimulating the economy with sustainable jobs in the very near future. The CCSC Pipeline Removal Project was a success and SR Trident, who is based less than 15 miles from The POCC, took great pride in knowing this will open our industry for future expansion in our area.
