What Exactly Is Subsea Piping ?

I am currently recruiting for a Subsea Piping Engineer on behalf of one of my clients

and although I am aware of what to look for on a CV I am still a bit unclear as to what
"subsea piping" actually is.
I believe that it is the pipework that connects various subsea structures within the
subsea system, but any clarification would be greatly appreciated if anyone can
help?
Also if this is the case why is there so few Subsea Piping Engineers around?
I look forward to hearing any responses.
o Graeme L. FAWCETT 5 days ago LikeUnlike
Haven't read all of the posts but first question is are you wanting a 'Piping' Engineer
or a 'Pipeline' Engineer?
o Dee Velez 4 days ago LikeUnlike
You got me Ed, when you find out let me know.
o Dee Velez 4 days ago LikeUnlike
My question Edward is why is it more advantageous to drill in the ocean as oppose to
dry land? I'm curious we had problems in the past with leaks that hurt the marine wild
life so would this subsea piping ensure that or make sure we don't spring leaks, and
sometimes trouble starts at the drilling so how do we ensure we don't have that
happen again? Why have Marine parks to protect wild life when we threaten them
due to just the drilling part itself and how can we prevent this in the future?
o Andy Clarke 3 days ago LikeUnlike
Edward if you check out my profile on Liked in I am availalbe & looking for a new
contract look for Andy Clarke
o Jeff Halfen 3 days ago LikeUnlike
Like Graeme, to me, "piping" and "pipeline" are two different things. Not based on
any concrete research, just based on my observations of the context heard over the
years. My understanding, admittedly over-simplifying, is that "pipeline" transports
product (eg oil, gas, hydrates) between 2 systems (or sub-systems), while "piping"
moves product within a system that is required to operate that system (eg coolant,
lube, or the piping that makes up a firewater system). Seems like most answers
below are about "pipeline". But I could be wrong - wouldn't be the first, or last, time.
o Vanessa Gouws an hour ago LikeUnlike
Over and above all the talk of risers, wellheads/Xmas tree's and such - Subsea
pipelines are used not only for water, oil and gas but also for effluent. Yes, the
geologist and design engineer are of utmost importance, but how come no one
mentions the Commercial divers being at all part of the design - They are after all the
Skilled and experienced persons that are directly involved in the wet welding and
actual construction thereof. If it were me I'd search for a piping Engineer with
advanced Commercial diving experience. This is a profession totally under
appreciated
o view less
8 Answers
1
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Naveen Verma answered 6 days ago
Subsea piping engineer will be responsible for the piping design and engineering for
the pipework connecting to various underwater equipment like SSIV, subsea
wellheads/Xmas tree and also like PLEM internal piping(Pipe line end module.
Subsea engineering involves a detailed study of various parameters affecting the
underwater piping system like Vortex induced vibrations, current etc.
Naveen Verma
answered 6 days ago
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2
Alan Fortune answered 6 days ago
The first answer from Muhammad is NOT true. What would a geologist have to do
with piping, unless the 'piping' was a geological structure within the formation such as
the 'pipes' associated with diamonds & GOLD. Take a look at this link:
http://www.aventa.fr/en/subsea-flexible-pipe-engineer-2/ Job Purpose :
Support the Company Development Team during Project Execution Phase in the engineering, det
ail design, manufacturing and testing of the Project Deepwater Flexible Pipe Riser, Flowlin
e, Jumper System
Review and approve the design performed by a Third Party Contractor (including specificati
ons, reports, calculation notes, analyses, drawings, datasheets, technical notes) of a deep
water Flexible Pipe Riser, Flowline and Jumper system and relevant ancillary equipment, ens
uring that it meets project objectives, industry standards and best practice for safety, re
liability and cost.
Monitor the Third Party Contractor performance.
Site Supervisor as Company Representative during Flexible Pipe Manufacturing and Testing ac
tivities, including ancillary equipments.
Offshore Assistance during Flexible Pipe Installation and Pre-commissioning activities onb
oard Installation Vessels and/or FPSO.
Candidate must be willing and able to international travels.
A little search found this, although I did not need to.
Alan Fortune
answered 6 days ago
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2
Mike Johnson answered 5 days ago
Of all the subsea projects I have helped build, I can say this: Subsea piping is
HEAVY! Otherwise it's just pipe. Depending on service some of them are high allow
steels involving specialized welding procedure specifications. Most people that are
not directly involved have no idea that there are sometimes miles of piping included
to connect the plets and plems that are scattered about the ocean floor. Not to
mention risers and miles of transmission pipeline. And oh yeah, I have never met a
geoligist. The geologist's role is to tell them where to drill the hole, then it is all about
engineering,fabrication and inspect to put it all together and make it all work.
Mike Johnson
answered 5 days ago
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2
Joe Alderton answered 5 days ago
While Muhammad is not exactly correct he is heading down the right path. Your
subsea piping (pipeline) engineer needs to understand the effect on the pipe by a
number of factors. Interaction with the seafloor and/or geology of the area such as
traversing escarpments or the effect of spanning pock marks or avoiding benthic
communities along the route of the pipeline are a key component of subsea pipeline
engineering. You dont want to place a pipeline in an area that it may get moved in a
seismic event or buried by a collapsing escarpment. The temperature of the product
and the water around the pipe, wave and or current interaction (vortex induced
vibration) are also important factors for design. They must have a good knowledge or
understanding of any number of parameters that must be accounted for in the proper
design and routing of a subsea pipeline to prevent stress on the pipeline and
structures it is connecting. When you design anything you have to understand what
affects the design inside and out and plan for worst case scenarios to prevent failure
over the lifetime of the design. You also attempt to create a design that can be built
with reasonable equipment, budget, and time constraints. The same basic principles
apply to designing a pipeline. You have to design for keeping what is in the line safe
and functioning while prevent fatigue and failure from the things happing to it from the
environment. There are also specialized engineers who do Finite Element Analysis
on pipeline stress, engineers who focus on the thermal expansion effects along
pipelines, and engineers who concentrate on the internal and external corrosion of
subsea pipelines. By the way piping is a topside engineer for subsea we prefer to be
called pipeline engineers. You really need to ask your client what the specific role
they will be utilizing the engineer for and look for someone with that experience. This
is solely my opinion and not a reflection of anything else.
Joe Alderton
answered 5 days ago
o Muhammad Aqil Mansoor 4 days ago LikeUnlike
Thank you sir for guiding.
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Muhammad Aqil Mansoor answered 6 days ago
Hi Sir! I am not an experience one but want to answer according to my little
knowledge. For subsea piping, you must have to hire mechanical engineer and
geologist at the same time, because one have the idea of piping and the other have
the idea of subsea structure. By this way, the subsea piping will done either more
perfectly. I may be wrong but its my suggestion according to my little and
inexperience knowledge.
Muhammad Aqil Mansoor
answered 6 days ago
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Edward Purnell OP answered 3 days ago
Thanks for the comments thus far. The help is much appreciated.
From what I can see Naveen's answer sums it up nicely, but I also note that some of
the comments are more related to a Pipeline Engineer role.
Mike's response is also useful and makes me wonder more why there are hardly any
Subsea Piping Engineers on the market - is it a particularly difficult element of the
Subsea system to design? Is it just not interesting enough?
Edward Purnell
answered 3 days ago
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Callum Scott answered 3 days ago
Edward, you have benefited technically from the guys responses above. The
question of availability is simply that this is a specialised area of engineering, and one
which has grown rapidly over the last 20 years. People who have the need to
engineer or design subsea systems normally develop their own staff, who perhaps
move on etc to allow other companies to enter this arena. There is therefore a
resource issue at the original company, of is staff don't move, new companies cant
get the people. In many ways, its symptomatic of the industry generally where there
is a distinct lack of quality staff period.
The final part of the supply issue is of course your client most likely wants someone
with 5-10 years experience and again is typical of the industry where there is little
investment in developing folks, but everybody wants an expert.
Callum Scott
answered 3 days ago
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sandiip rathod (Looking for Job) answered 2 days ago
Dear Guys, Question is just simple it is depends on the company needs to hire
desired professional with relevant experience in the field. As Subsea Enginner needs
to develope calculation,run simulation using software, pipe wall thickness
calculation,material of construction,route selection,water depth measurement,code of
piping system,fittings,pressure-temperature rating and method statement.
sandiip rathod (Looking for Job)
answered 2 days ago
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