EWS Project in Chile

On Saturday 13th of November 2016, a major milestone was achieved on the Escondida Water Supply project for BHP Billiton in Antofagasta, northern Chile, for the seawater intake and discharge system of the Minera Escondida Desalination plant. The completion of the offshore intake system was successfully achieved by the project team with the installation of the last concrete unit (130t) of the second intake line. The complete system is composed of a 2m diameter GRP riser surmounted by an 450 tons concrete intake head composed of four prefabricated concrete parts.

The milestone was achieved after months of preparation, development of procedures and specially designed installation tools. The installation works were performed from a self-elevated platform equipped with a diving spread, ROV’s, and a concrete batching plant for underwater pouring of the outfall and the two intake shafts.

Finally, on Tuesday 06th December 2016, the last touch was added to the Project with the installation of the concrete mattresses using an hydraulic-release spreader bar. These concrete mattresses will serve as protection of the GRP spool pieces connecting the HDPE diffuser pipelines to the outfall GRP manifold. This last activity completed the offshore outfall system and at the same time the whole offshore project.

The GEOCEAN team was congratulated by the client for completing the work with strong commitment in safety and quality.

Project Summary:

Construction of intake & outfall pipelines for the mining industry

• 2 water intake lines* in micro tunnel, each ending in a 7m diameter 12m deep shaft drilled offshore. From here a GRP riser was installed, supporting prefab concrete intake heads (450 tons / unit)

*530m length overall each, ID 2m

• 1 water discharge line* in micro tunnel ending in a 7m diameter 10m deep shaft. From here a GRP riser was installed and connected to a 300T manifold/anchor block connecting 2x1600mm OD HDPE diffuser pipelines, 100m long, laid on the seabed

*350m length overall, ID 2m