Construction of the two terminals that complete the first phase of freight logistics group Transnet’s New Multi Product Pipeline (NMPP) is on track, with the mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and piping work beginning this month.

The terminals – one in Heidelberg and the other in the Cutlet Complex, at Island View, in Durban – are expected to be completed by year-end.

During a Durban site visit at the end of last year, Charl Möller, the group executive who heads up Transnet Capital Projects, confirmed that the current approved cost estimate for Phase 1 was R23.4-billion. Transnet began laying the pipeline in 2008. However, as the project progressed, the estimated cost more than doubled from an initial figure of R9.5-billion. The project completion date was pushed out from 2010 to 2013.

By December, engineering for the terminal was 60% complete, with all heavy engineering scheduled for completion by the end of March. Eight accumulator tanks are under construction and work is progressing well on the refurbishment of two tanks that have been acquired from Sapref.

Möller said that bulk deliveries of carbon steel piping towards the end of the year would be followed by delivery of pipe fittings this month, allowing for pipe fabrication to begin. Pipe valves, mainline pumps, generators, metering and proving equipment and effluent treatment plant would be imported from different plants across the world.

He said that, despite delays, cost escalations and project design changes, plans to deliver the first phase of the NMPP in three stages had remained in place.

The first stage – the 16 inch inland northern pipeline network – was fully operational by May 2011. This enhanced operational flexibility but did not add capacity from the coast. The Stage 2 twenty-four-inch trunkline came on stream a year ago. Half Capacity While only operating at half capacity, it delivered over 2.2-billion litres of diesel to Gauteng during 2012.

The NMPP will continue to operate in tandem with the existing Durban–Johannesburg pipeline (DJP). The delivery of the terminals in early 2014 will not only double capacity but also give the NMPP a full multiproduct handling capability.

The coastal terminal comprises a main control building, a spill basin and ten accumulator tanks to accommodate unleaded petrol, low- and ultralow sulphur diesel and jet fuel. Each accumulator tank will hold more than 22-million litres of water during hydrotesting. Once filled with product, each accumulator tank will weigh about 20-million kilograms.

The coastal terminal will have full metering and proving capabilities to receive fuel from Durban- based producers such as Sapref, Engen, Total and Vopak through dedicated product lines. Off-specification product will be diverted to intermix tanks.

Möller said that, initially, three mainline pumps would be installed and would operate in parallel, ensuring that the minimum number of pumps provided the required flow rate. The first phase will have a maximum pump operating capacity of one-million litres an hour. As demand increases, this could be increases to three-million litres an hour by 2040.

Critical Factors

He said one of the most critical factors was that the efficiency of the NMPP would be 98%, as opposed to 90% for the DJP, because of the uninterrupted closed system created by the trunkline and terminals concept. Already, he added, the NMPP was between 20% and 25% more energy efficient than the DJP.

Because the coastal terminal is located in an area that is notorious for chemical spillages and protests by environmental watchdogs, Transnet has ensured that the NMPP is “best in class”.

Möller said that major hazardous installation studies had been carried out on both the pipelines and terminals as part of the environmental-impact assessment process. These exceeded industry standards and both pumpstations and terminals were designed to meet ‘national key point’ requirements.

Terminal and pumpstation design also took into consideration lessons learnt from the Buncefield industry disaster at the Hertfordshire oil storage terminal, in the UK, in December 2005. In the event of a catastrophic failure, areas where people are likely to be present and key long-delivery items of equipment will be protected. The integrity level of the power supply will be high, with two diesel-powered generators capable of running two pumps simultaneously on standby.

Because tank floor leakage is a major hidden problem with tank farms and can cause considerable environmental damage, the NMPP design incorporates a double-skin floor and polyethylene membrane underneath tanks linked to a sophisticated leak- detection system. Floating blankets, together with geodetic tank roofs, will reduce tank vapour loss to well within acceptable industry norms. Floating blankets have been adopted for ULP and jet fuel tanks, thus making the NMPP among the best in its class.

To facilitate the taking of product samples from tanks, minimise product loss and avoid spillage into the environment, a flush tank system has been specified.

Construction Industry Development Board procurement stipulations had been used throughout the NMPP project and current broad-based black economic- empowerment procurement spend stood at 92.4%, Möller said.