A Volvo PL4809D-Series unit is supporting construction on an $890mn gas pipeline in France.
On completion, l’Arc de Dierrey pipeline, which is to cross five French regions, will extend approximately 308km, and boasts a capacity of 15bn cubic metres of gas per year.
The Volvo CE rotating pipelayer has been enlisted by grid operator, GRTgaz, and is being used in conjunction with a fleet of conventional, side-boom pipelayers to install the six-tonne pipe sections.
“I’m pleased with the overall performance of the machine,” commented Patrice Decour, plant manager at Spiecapag, one of the main contractors working on the 63km stretch of pipeline between Aube and Marne.
“The machine is well designed, with all the filters grouped together and easily accessible,” added Spiecapag’s chief engineer, Stephan Ercoli.
“The access walkways are also well done. It’s a machine that inspires confidence,” he explained.
Around 19,000 steel pipes, 12m long and 1.22m in diameter, will be required to complete the pipeline. Each section weighs close to six tonnes, but with its 90-tonne lifting capacity, the PL4809D-Series was equipped for the job.
“The southern section where work began required working through limestone,” said project director, Jean-Paul Chauvin.
“The northern section, which encountered more rock, clay, and woodland, presented more difficulty, and due to the high water table in the region, about nine miles (15km) of bog mats were required,” he added.
l’Arc de Dierrey is scheduled to complete before the end of 2015. Once finished, the pipeline will extend to the south coast of France.
