As the pffshore oil industry develops oil and gas resources from beneath ever increasing water depths, engineer are continually pressed to drliver solutions to the technical problems that inevitably follow. One especially challenging aspect of this development from deep water is the need to convey product to the shore. Where distance permits a pipeline is the favoured option, although this involves the technical challenge of laying pipe in deep water.
Various technologies have been evolved for pipelaying in deep water, depending on the pipe diameter as well as the water depth and the required length to be installed. One solution for long runs of the larger diameters of pipe is a continuous process in which sections of pipe are welded onto the end of the pipeline on board