FIPAI/Petrobras Transporte S.A. (Transpetro)
Paraíba do Sul River, State of São Paulo, Brazil
Infrastructure and Pipeline Protection
FIPAI/Petrobras Transporte S.A. (Transpetro)
Paraíba do Sul River, State of São Paulo, Brazil
Infrastructure and Pipeline Protection
Severe river erosion processes were threatening to damage the existing 28-inch GASCAR pipeline on the Rio Paraíba do Sul near Caçapava City in São Paulo State. NHC was contracted to study and document the erosion process, and then design pipeline protection. The study showed that the river channel at the project site had undergone major and mostly anthropogenic, as well as some natural, changes. This resulted in the distance from the riverbank to the pipeline decreasing by 50 meters, being only nine meters from the pipeline in 2013. To defend against future severe bank erosion and river degradation, NHC designed approximately 320 meters of riprap riverbank protection. The design was innovative in terms of pipeline standards in Brazil and removed an unacceptable risk to pipeline integrity. The design also minimized river impacts from construction and importantly to the client, reduced anticipated construction time.