CEE-USV Surveying on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

Surveyors and engineers from Alyeska Pipeline, responsible for the 800-mile crude oil pipeline from the oilfield at Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez experienced a quantum leap in field work efficiency and data quality with the implementation of a USV survey program using the Trimble GNSS-equipped RTK CEESCOPE on board the CEE-USV. With pipeline depth of burial surveys required annually for all river crossings, the USV offers huge efficiency improvements.

The 800 mile (1,287km) Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is the longest pipeline in the USA and carries over 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day through 48” pipe from the oilfield at Prudhoe Bay to the tanker terminal at Valdez.

The pipeline, owned and operated by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, crosses varied terrain and includes buried and raised sections, depending on the soil structure below the pipe. There are 34 major river crossings and nearly 500 small stream crossings along the route. The pipeline needs to be periodically surveyed and inspected to ensure asset integrity, safety, and spill mitigation. Part of the survey requirements is the depth of burial surveys for the river crossings where the pipe is routed under the water. The pipeline design calls for a minimum burial depth where the pipe is covered by a certain thickness of sediment over the width of the crossing.

CEE HydroSystems

Hornsby (Sydney), AU

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