ReachingMilestones:What itmeant to
complete the Taweelah-FujairahPipeline
An ImpressiveProject
If building apipeline through some of the
world’smost arduous desert and clearing
apathway through seemingly inaccessible
mountain ranges doesn’t sounddifficult
enough a task, the Taweelah-Fujairah
Pipeline (TFP) was completed using an
ambitious three year timeline tomeet
the requirements of its customers.While
meeting the constructionmilestones in
the timeframe given, Dolphin ensured
that its strict quality, health, safety and
environmental standardsweremet.
Working inPartnership
Workingwith contractor Stroytransgaz
(STG) and several municipalities across
4of theUAE’s sevenEmirates, the
substantial 48 inchpipelinewas laid
across 244 kilometers connectingDolphin
Energy’s receiving facilities inTaweelah
to a newpower anddesalinationplant in
Fujairah. Thepipeline route cuts across
AbuDhabi andSharjahdeserts, thenover
themountains of RasAl Khaimahbefore
finally reachingFujairah itself. Thepipeline
will supply the immediate and future gas
requirements of one of DolphinEnergy’s
major customers, theAbuDhabiWater
andElectricityCompany (ADWEC).
The constructionwork involved in creating
thepipeline routewas not limited to
digging trenches for thepipeline; due to
thepathway involvingRasAl Khaimah’s
mountain ranges the constructionof roads
wide and stable enough to transport heavy
vehicles and equipment was required
throughout theproject, DolphinEnergy
workedwith local municipalities tomake
more than550 third-party and highway
crossings using advancednon-destructive
techniqueswhich kept third-party assets
intact. Furthermore, DolphinEnergy
worked to accommodate IPIC’s
(International Petroleum Investment
Company) ownoil pipeline and
shared a right-of-way through
Fujairah’smountains as part of an
agreed construction sequence.
EnvironmentallyConscious
From the outset of theproject,
environmental and social concerns
were captured and addressed.
Firstly, adetailedEnvironmental
andSocial Impact Assessment
(ESIA) was undertaken in 2007 to
identify all necessarymeasures to
be taken tominimize the impact
of thepipeline on the environment
and local communities located in
proximity to the route. Secondly,
DolphinEnergy decided not to use
explosives to assist constructionof
thepipeline route in themountain
section. Although the use of
explosives is commonplace in
this regard andwould have sped
up theprocess significantly, the
company felt it would compromise
thequality of work, the stability of
themountains and increase health,
safety and environmental risks – a
gambleDolphinEnergywas not
prepared to take.
ElevatingHealthand
SafetyStandards
In the first stages of construction,
DolphinEnergy realized that
the health and safety standards
demonstratedby contractors and
subcontractorswere not at the level
of expectation. Inorder to improve
•Continue to enhance customer relationships and satisfaction.
In addition to function
relatedmeetings,
twoRelationship
EnhancementMeetings tobe heldwith all of our customers
in theUAE,Oman&Qatar.
•Score ≥7 in the customer satisfaction survey
•Develop and launch a formal customer complaints
management system
TheProject inNumbers
•
116,000metric tons of
pipelines used
•
20,675pipelinewelds
•
TFP’s highest point is 680m
above sea level
•
27 steep slopes ranging from
10 to 33degrees
•
9block valve stations
and a receiving stationbuilt
theproject’s overall health and
safety commitment, DolphinEnergy
brought on several specialist trainers
towork full-time on theproject and
educateworkers on health and
safety conduct with a specific focus
on traffic safety. DolphinEnergy also
hired 43 compliance inspectors on
theproject to ensure all rules and
regulationswere observed.
At the end, DolphinEnergy’s
focus onquality, health and safety
returned rewardswith significant
performance improvements.Mr.
Adel AhmedAlbuainain, Dolphin’s
GM inQatar, summed up theproject
eloquentlywhen he stated, “If ever
you needed an example to illustrate
thepower of ‘positive energy’, this
is it. To have overcome the tough,
challenging conditions facedby the
entire team shows howbrilliantly the
project has been executed.”
MeetingCustomer
Expectations
2011Goals
