A.Hak Magazine Winter 2017 - English by A.Hak

A.HAK MAGAZINE

winter PUBLICATION FOR STAFF MEMBERS AND RELATIONS EDITION 15 | JANUARY 2017 | VOLUME 5

‘I take pride in seeing how well our approach is perceived’ REMKO VIERHOUT PROJECT LEADER A.HAK

Borderless energy Electron connects new high-voltage line to existing grid

World class QHSE Humber pipeline replacement meets stringent requirements

Industrial steam Steam and condensate network in the Port of Antwerp

DRILLING IN NEW PLACES Earning a place in a new market is not always easy. Competitors watch every move you make, while relations with new customers and the local community are still developing. The drilling experts at A.Hak in Canada were therefore pleased to share exciting news from Calgary in December 2016. A horizontal directional drilling with a 1,025 metre length was successfully completed for customer Atco Pipelines. While the cold Canadian winter was coming, two teams with both Dutch and Canadian drilling experts worked day and night to complete the project on-time. And they were rewarded for their hard work: A.Hak Canada was granted a new order scheduled for the summer of this year, for the engineering and design of eight new drillings.

PREAMBLE

A new year with new opportunities Reflecting on 2016, it has been a challenging year. In difficult market conditions, negatively influenced by factors such as the continuous low oil price, we primarily focused on cost control, project management and organisational efficiency. We will continue to build forth on this strategy in 2017: with an efficient organisation that completes projects to the full satisfaction of our customers without wasting resources, we continue to work towards improving our returns. 2016 also was a year in which we strategically reconsidered our service portfolio. By focusing on our core activities, we ensure A.Hak evolves along economic developments and opportunities. While all our business units offer excellent products and services, those further from our core business will obtain new owners to help them develop towards their next step.

colophon PHOTOGRAPHY RenĂŠ Smits Venguideche Vilvanadane Maarten van der Voorde COPYWRITING Richard van Santen

Throughout this change process, our first priorities are of course the continuity of our individual entities and the sustainable employment of our staff members. We therefore take all time required to carefully weigh any decision we make, and will actively update all those involved once definitive decisions are made. We also value the trust and support we will continue to receive from our banks in 2017. Trust in our quality and abilities is also bestowed upon us by our customers across the globe. The result is a well-filled order portfolio for this new year. In this first magazine for 2017 we present a few of the projects in which we take pride. A.Hak Electron has a busy schedule, a state of the art pipe-in-pipe project completed by A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities received the international ISTT No Dig Award for Project Rehabilitation, while A.Hak Infranet invests in physical and mental top performance for Site Managers together with former Olympic boxing medallist Arnold Vanderlyde.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Richard van Santen CONCEPT/DESIGN Studio BLT, Rotterdam PRODUCTION NPN Drukkers CONTACT communicatie@a-hak.nl

A.Hak also commenced work on various international projects. The next edition of this A.Hak Magazine will update about two large projects in Saudi Arabia and Albania. In this edition, the first pages already showed you a wonderful photo of a drilling project in Canada. Two other international projects are also featured on the next pages: the construction of a gas transport pipeline in England and a sustainable steam and condensate pipeline infrastructure in the Port of Antwerp. We hope you enjoy reading this magazine and extend our very best wishes for 2017!

N0 15 | JANUARY 2017 VOLUME 5

Marco van Geenhuizen Mariska van Geenhuizen A.HAKPARK BOARD

what

What do the A.Hak companies achieve together with their customers? The largest pages of this magazine offers these projects the space they deserve.

CONTENT 23 Borderless energy After the construction of a fourth high voltage connection between Germany and The Netherlands, A.Hak Electron was called upon to create the connection with the existing regional high voltage grids.

Under the Humber

A.Hak Electron also works on underground medium and high voltage connections in multiple countries. Read more about the services delivered by this company and the industries that benefit from them.

For the River Humber Pipeline Replacement Project in England, A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities is part of a joint venture with Skanska and PORR. Quality, safety and the environment are top priorities for this project.

28 District heating continues to grow A regular in this magazine: items about the construction of sustainable district heating networks. We reflect on a project in Dordrecht and look forward to a new one in the Southern Netherlands.

04 Preamble 26 Ring road expansion 30 See A.Hak for yourself

Sustainable ease of use

ELECTRICITY a.hak magazine

COMPANY CASE FILE: A.HAK ELECTRON

Regular readers of this magazine have certainly read about A.Hak Electron before. In this edition, their experts give us a look behind the scenes of their construction projects for underground medium and high voltage connections.

TEXT Richard van Santen

ver the past few years A.Hak Electron has evolved. In 2015, the company started focusing entirely on the construction of underground medium (10k-30kV) and high voltage (50 to 380 kV AC up to 650 kV DC) connections. To manage even the largest projects, the company intensively collaborates with A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities (P&F). A.Hak Electron has an abundance of expertise and know-how, while the decades of experience at P&F with underground infrastructure forms a compelling combination for customers in various countries. Regular readers of this A.Hak Magazine have seen quite a lot of marvellous projects completed by these joint entities. This magazine features yet another impressive A.Hak Electron project. TenneT TSO is the Dutch national high voltage grid operator, and they’re currently building a new 380 kV line connection between Germany and The Netherlands. As one of the construction partners during this project, A.Hak Electron was awarded a contract by Reddyn and TenneT TSO. Current aboveground connections between various cities, were installed underground by A.Hak Electron.

IMPORTANT MARKET SECTORS

TIDAL CURRENTS

These two corporations symbolise two of the three primary markets on which A.Hak Electron focuses: first there are grid owners and managers on a local, regional, national and international scale. The second category are the service providers, often operating in specific regions to manage the high voltage grid and construct new elements. Parties such as Reddyn, Joulz and Delta are all A.Hak Electron customers. The third market segment with quite a few A.Hak Electron

Wind is not the only source of energy found at sea. Near the Dutch island of Texel, the company Bluewater currently experiments with a tidal energy generator named BlueTEC (Bluewater’s Tidal Energy Converter). The BlueTEC consists of a floating platform with a generator, powered underwater by tidal currents. A.Hak Electron installed this offshore cable from a separate operational vessel in the Wadden Sea. One of the smart solutions utilised to ensure the cable was installed correctly, were synchronised cable transporters as a breaking system. Once positioned perfectly, the cable was connected to the energy grid of the island of Texel.

‘ Electron is increasing its activities in the field of engineering’ customers are industrial corporations managing their own high and medium voltage networks. In the previous edition of this magazine for instance, we showed how A.Hak Electron installed a double 150 kV connection for a refinery in the Rotterdam Botlek area. Other corporations for which A.Hak Electron completed various projects include Nutricia, FrieslandCampina and Tata Steel. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

A fourth target audience for A.Hak Electron is also rapidly expanding while it even hardly existed a decade ago: Power plants currently operating on fossil fuels, are expanding their capacity for more sustainable energy sources. This includes energy from the wind, the sun, tidal energy and biomass. At various sites, A.Hak Electron contributed significantly to onshore wind projects, for which they installed all cables for the wind park and the connection to the central grid. Furthermore, A.Hak Electron also works on offshore wind farms. Using an export cable, these wind farms must also be connected to the mainland high voltage grid. To accomplish this, A.Hak Electron joins often forces with A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities and A.Hak Drillcon, who both have extensive experience with cable landings.

EXTENSIVE SERVICES

Unburdening the customer is key to A.Hak Electron. This is why the company consciously offers a complete service portfolio. The construction of new cable connections remains an important element of their core business, while this A.Hak company is also regularly called upon for retrofit projects. A third service is the removal of oil-pressured cables at the end of their lifecycles. As some of these cables have leaked oil, soil remediation is another service in popular demand. For this purpose, A.Hak Electron possesses the required BRL 7000 certification. Engineering is also a growing aspect of A.Hak Electron’s services, as customers increasingly want to rely on their contractors to come up with the best solutions for their electricity grids within their own requirements. Within these frameworks, they even entrust their contractors with the partial or entire project responsibility, and A.Hak has proven on more than one occasion to be up to that task. Aspects such as environment management and permit application procedures are now much more often part of A.Hak Electron’s project tasks. We’ll elaborate on an excellent example of such a project on page 23 of this magazine.

HARVESTING TIDAL ENERGY

A.Hak Electron also participates in offshore projects and not just for wind farms. This photo shows how an experimental generator that harvests tidal energy is being connected near the Dutch island of Texel.

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ELECTRICITY

In a joint venture with Skanska and PORR Bau GmbH, A.Hak works on the design and construction of a 42" high pressure gas pipeline in a tunnel under the river Humber at the English east coast. This serves as a replacement for the current gas pipeline which lies embedded in the riverbed. With a length of roughly five kilometres, this will be the longest pipeline in the world installed into a tunnel as a single pipeline string.

With respect for the environment JOINT VENTURE WITH A.HAK REPLACES HUMBER PIPELINE

TEXT Richard van Santen PHOTOGRAPHY René Smits

he customer, the British energy corporation National Grid, is highly satisfied about the work delivered by the joint venture who was granted the contract for this complex project. ‘These three partners form a balanced team, with the right experience in engineering, tunnel constructions and pipeline constructions’, says Steve Ellison, Project Manager for National Grid, in an item recently published on the website of this energy corporation. PERMITS

Prior to commencing the physical work, considerable time and effort was spent on obtaining all required permits. These were subject to strict rules with regards to nature conservancy and archaeological findings. All archaeological findings for instance, which date back to the Iron Age, the Roman Age and the Middle Ages, will all be registered by experts in this field. Local wildlife is another important topic: this biodiverse area is home to species such as the protected European water vole, badgers, harriers and many other bird species. Excavation and construction work can however not be completed without affecting their domain to some degree. It is therefore the joint responsibility of the customer and contractor to ensure local wildlife is temporarily removed from the worksite. For some species, blocking the entry to their nests or burrows makes them happily build a new home somewhere else. Other species might be caught and relocated. The harrier’s nests however, cannot be moved. To protect them, several places along the route are fenced off and work will not take place here.

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PREPARATORY EXCAVATION WORK

Once all permits were obtained, excavating over 20 hectares of work terrain could commence on September 12th. National Grid had made binding agreements with the local land owners, that work would be completed at the end of September. This meant only three weeks remained to get the job done. ‘A.Hak has the experience to know what to do when the pressure is on’, says Martin Haigh, Project Leader on behalf of A.Hak. ‘The fertile topsoil layer we excavate, is highly valuable to local farmers. As a result, we have to restore it to the exact same state we found it once our job is done.’ He continues with ‘A.Hak had seen this challenge coming for some time, and already had the right person available to lead this subproject. In addition to the nature conservancy measures and the registration of historic artefacts, chances were the ground could contain explosive ordnance, we had to protect the underground infrastructure already present in the area, and the work terrain required fencing and temporary access roads.’ WORLD CLASS QHSE POLICY

A ‘massive challenge’, is what National Grid’s Project Manager Steve Ellison also called it. ‘We had to mobilise quickly and effectively with lots of heavy machinery’, he explains. ‘Several of the subcontractors for this project were new parties with whom we did not work before. We therefore took additional measures to ensure and verify that they continuously met the high standards set forth by National Grid for quality, safety and care for the environment.’ Martin Haigh, our local English manag-

PROTECTED SPECIES

A focus on the environment is part of the stringent QHSE measures. To protect the breeding places of the harrier, working near their nests was avoided.

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GAS

er, has come to know National Grid’s QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety & Environment) by heart. ‘As early as in May of this year, a team of thirty staff members from both the customer and the contractor came together in a nearby Skanska office to jointly work on all permit and QHSE documentation. This also laid the groundwork for a close joint team to manage the entire project. Both the preparatory work and the layout of the work terrain therefore meet all QHSE requirements defined by National Grid and the joint venture partners; requirements that are generally accepted as being ‘World Class’.

The QHSE standards are generally recognised as being ‘World Class’ THREE EXPERTS

Once all preparatory work was completed, the actual construction work commenced in January. In addition to the mentioned teamwork aspect, the three joint partners each contribute their own specific expert knowledge and experience to the joint venture. Skanska is responsible for constructing the shafts at the entry side, which will have 150 metre length and an 18 metre depth. Constructing the tunnel with a length of more than five kilometres, with concrete segments is done by the Austrian firm PORR. The tunnel boring machine selected for this impressive job is the Herrenknecht Slurry Tunnel Boring Machine. A.Hak contributes to the project by bearing the project responsibility, and we primarily focus on installing the pipeline into the tunnel and connecting it to the stations on both sides of the river. JOINT MISSION

During the pipeline installation, pre-welded strings with approximate lengths of 700 metres are pushed into the tunnel. The tunnel is then flooded, so that the ballast attached to the strings give them a neutral flotation. Any friction during the pipeline insertion process, which could damage the pipelines, is dramatically reduced this way. ‘Once this construction project is finished, this site will be a testament of excellent engineering that will contribute to the reliability of our network for decades to come’, Steve Ellison wrote on the project website. ‘There is still much left to do and many challenges remain, but participating in this joint mission is a wonderful experience.’

GAS a.hak magazine

how How do our companies offer the signature added value that turns a project into an A.Hak project? The heart of this magazine zooms in on the heart of our operations.

CONTENT 14 Forward integration A new way of collaborating with Gasunie.

15 National Icon REDstack is designated as one of the icons of Dutch innovative strength.

16 Fully green gas-powered cars

Fighting for Success!

A.Hak procured a number of Green gas-powered vehicles.

17 Picking up steam The preparations for constructing a steam and condensate infrastructure in the Port of Antwerp are well underway.

20 ISTT No-Dig Award A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities wins an international award with a Âpipe-in-pipe project.

Site Managers play a pivotal role in successfully completing projects. This asks a lot of them: technical skills, utilising both time and budget efficiently, playing well with others, communicating clearly, caring for their team members and keeping a solid eye on safety aspects. At times, they seem like the athletes of construction, and to support them we teamed up with former Olympic boxing medallist Arnold Vanderlyde for a training program with the inspiring title Fighting for Success. a.hak magazine

GENERAL

TRAINING FOR SITE MANAGERS: OUR ‘TOP ATHLETES’

TEXT Richard van Santen PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten van der Voorde

project-driven organisation such as A.Hak can only be successful if it completes its projects safely, correctly and quickly. This forms the foundation for healthy returns and is our customer’s primary requirement. To meet this requirement, we establish rules in multiple areas of expertise which we have periodically checked and certified by independent third parties. Sound policy and the right certificates are a great foundation, but it’s the people carrying out the actual work who must deliver on the quality levels promised. Site Managers play a highly important role in this respect, and not only because of their technical know-how. The Fighting for Success training focuses on other important skills. Fighting for Success originated at A.Hak Infranet. This company has been operating in difficult market conditions with ample competition and low profit margins for quite some time, while customers continue to raise their expectancies for safety, quality and the turnaround for projects. Meeting these requirements demands for teams with smooth company processes, who work together closely and strictly prevent any waste of resources. A.Hak Infranet also completes much of its work in urban areas, where local residents and other stakeholders have high expectancies when it comes to environment and nuisance management. If they do get disappointed along the way, this often leads to outspoken reactions, also on social media. All these variables demand a broad skills set from our site managers. They are responsible for productivity, monitoring and complying with work processes and attaining a proper financial result. Team members can consult them for technical questions, they meet with external partners and are the spokesmen on behalf of their team in the internal organisation. Furthermore, they supervise operational safety, are the first point of contact for cases of absenteeism and they are the caretaker of many of the project’s financial aspects.

OTHER SKILLS

Many Site Managers have already proven their technical insights, their craftsmanship and their skills as smart trouble-shooters. Today’s Site Man-

GENERAL a.hak magazine

ager however, must also be able to work quickly and efficiently, do the financial project administration, communicate well and monitor and motivate the health and safety of their team members in a smooth cooperation with them. These skills are often not part of the learning curriculum at school or other courses. The Fighting or Success training program fills in that gap. The name of this program is derived from the ‘Fighting fit for success training program’ concept engineered by former top boxer and Olympic medallist Arnold Vanderlyde. ‘It’s certainly not aimed at turning all Site Managers into professional boxers’, says the triple Olympic medal winner with a smile, ‘but to properly divide attention between all topics on your desk, Site Managers virtually need the mentality of a professional athlete. I mostly contribute to the first training session, which has the primary learning objective of taking control of your own learning curve. This requires the right amount of energy and motivation and only works if you are fit, both physically and mentally. Body and mind influence one another directly. It’s the combination of these two that keeps your mind clear and helps you focus while decreasing stress.’ CONTROL YOUR OWN DESTINY

‘Taking charge is a matter of mentality. It’s about believing in yourself and being convinced that you can personally influence many aspects of your

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Before the Site Managers got to work with this course, their managers had to go first. By attending this course as well, they familiarise themselves with the curriculum so that they are available for questions and remarks of all other students.

private and professional life. I always ask students to think about which elements in their work give them energy, and those that cost them energy. The next step is thinking about how to improve this balance. We often believe that some negative aspects are simply a part of the job, while not pursuing every opportunity to better this personal balance.’ Vanderlyde recognises another similarity with sports here. ‘My own experience thought me the importance of training. Continuing to learn from both things that go well and things at which you fail is vital for developing yourself. I try to imprint on the students how important it is to never stop developing yourself and how you yourself are the most important aspect in making that happen.’ SIX ROUNDS

In this lesson based on personal experience that Vanderlyde teaches during the first evening of this course, also called ‘Round 1’. Five more rounds follow: Time management, Project Finance & Administration, Soft skills & Communication, Sustainable Employability and Collaborating Daily. The importance of the first two categories is rather self-explanatory: make sure your time is used efficiently and control your projects financially as well. But what exactly are soft skills? Onno Elzinga, the Corporate Manager QHSE & Sustainability was the initiator of this training program. He explains what they are: Soft skills is a phrase used for personal, social skills. Everything that has to do with communication and relations between individuals, such as giving clear instructions, addressing each other about behaviour, making it possible to speak about problems and telling

someone ‘no’ in a polite and respectful way’, says Elzinga. ‘In our industry, these skills often received less attention than the technical skills, the so called hard skills. Despite the name, the soft skills prove not to be that soft at all, as doing it properly requires serious techniques and skills.” PRIVACY AND ABSENTEEISM

Sustainable Employability is another subject which might require some explanation. ‘This topic revolves primarily about giving Site Managers more insights and increasing their awareness of their managerial role in preventing incidents and limiting absenteeism’, Absenteeism Coordinator Angela Messioui explains after the training she just gave together with Onno Elzinga. ‘Topics as discussing risks and stimulating risk awareness, visible leadership, learning from incidents and penalising bad and rewarding good safety behaviour are all part of this curriculum. We also discuss the relation between privacy and absenteeism. When do you take action if someone has called in sick, and how can you do this effectively and thoroughly while respecting your staff members’ privacy?

‘ The mind and body directly influence each other’ WORKING TOGETHER

The final round is themed ‘Collaborating Daily’. This training is personally taught by Jan van Loon of the Bats! Trainer and actors collective. As the lead trainer of the program, he is present during every round. During the Collaborating Daily round, he primarily focuses on making clear agreements about task divisions, work methods and procedures, while not forgetting about another critical component of each successful collaboration: how to keep morale up in the team? Together with two actors working full-time at Bats!, he depicts various work scenarios everyone will recognise. Bats! already did that before for A.Hak in a number of safety videos that are part of an internal safety campaign aimed at turning safety awareness in a discussion topic.

a.hak magazine

GENERAL

Forward Integration Now that the prestigious Beverwijk-Wijngaarden gas pipeline construction project is completed, longstanding customer Gasunie won’t build any large new infrastructure soon. This however surely does not mean that A.Hak no longer works for Gasunie. The business relation between the two companies was recently renewed, as A.Hak was chosen as one of the contractors for a framework agreement. After a long tender procedure, Gasunie selected A.Hak to work on the gas transport infrastructure and all corresponding facilities. A.Hak received the maximum score and entered into contracts for three different regions: The North-western, North-eastern and South-eastern Netherlands. ‘Forward Integration for Contractors’, was one of the defining phrases in the tender process, which Gasunie defined to emphasise that contractors are involved in projects quite early. As a result, the contractor does not only carry out the work, but is also partially or entirely involved in the design and engineering tasks. The new framework agreement has already led to a first project being granted to A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities, in which modifications are to be made on a pipeline trajectory. A clear indication of Gasunie’s implementation of Forward Integration is found in the project’s description. In addition to the construction work, mostly aimed at multiple block valve stations, A.Hak is also responsible for the preliminary research, pilot trenches, detailed engineering and coordinating all required temporary facilities to ensure the gas infrastructure’s continuity during the construction work. The next edition of this magazine will feature a more in-depth item about this work method.

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National Icon REDSTACK

On Tuesday evening, October 18th, REDstack was designated as one of three National Icons by Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp. These National Icons are ground-breaking innovations in areas of expertise such as energy, food and water supply.

EDstack, a company in which A.Hak is one of the shareholders, harvests energy from the difference between salt concentrations in seawater and fresh water. A jury, chaired by former Minister Hans Weijers, selected ten finalists from over sixty high-quality entries. Once all contestants had presented their companies at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and during onsite inspections by the jury, the Dutch Cabinet selected the three winners. The National Icons are actively supported by the Dutch Cabinet and are awarded a Minister or Undersecretary as a personal ambassador. This offers these companies access to a vast (inter)national network and helps them to secure financing, new partners and governmental policy support. The three National icons were announced in a nationwide televised event, where all finalists were invited. The two other winners are Groboxx made by Groasis, a paper box enabling trees in dry areas to grow with only ten percent of the normally required amount of water, and Lighthouse developed by ASML, an electron accelerator used to create medical isotopes. Minister Kamp: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The National Icons are Dutch solutions for global challenges in the field of energy, agriculture and healthcare. They represent the finest innovators in The Netherlands with significant economic potential that contributes to global sustainability ambitions.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

‘Just as mobile but much more sustainable’ Late in 2016, the Regional Manager of OrangeGas, Joyce Van Os de man, officially handed over the keys to four special light vans to Theo Knoop, Manager of the Equipment & Logistics Department at A.Hak Infranet. These Volkswagen Caddy wagons are powered by Green Gas, a sustainable fuel available at 65 gas stations in the Netherlands. By powering these vehicles with Green Gas, A.Hak tangibly contributes to a cleaner environment. ‘Operating sustainably is mostly just a matter of doing it’, Knoop says while officially accepting the keys and the corresponding Green Gas Certificate. ‘A.Hak endeavours to drastically reduce the company-wide carbon emissions. In addition to acting environmentally conscious when it comes to mobility and the efficient usage of our equipment, making our vehicle fleet greener is an excellent solution. Especially as this fuel is no more expensive than diesel and these Caddy’s keep us just as mobile as conventional vehicles.’ OrangeGas’ Regional Manager is pleased with the cooperation with A.Hak. ‘It is wonderful to notice how an increasing number of industry leaders recognise the importance of contributing to sustainable mobility. Not only because the tangible environmental benefits and the fact that Green Gas is no more expensive than diesel, but also because the action radius of the Caddy’s remains the same and OrangeGas has a network of 65 locations throughout the Netherlands where our Green Gas is available. A.Hak will deploy these new Caddy’s in various cities in The Netherlands located quite far from one another, and yet they don’t have to drive far to fill up their tanks.’

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY a.hak magazine

ECLUSE project picks up steam In a joint venture with Petrogas, A.Hak is currently building the Steam Network Waaslandhaven in the Port of Antwerp. Steam that is generated in a waste processing plant generates sustainable energy for a growing amount of customers in the port area. Although the project currently is still in its preparatory phase, customer ECLUSE has already won its first sustainability award from the Port Community in Antwerp.

TEXT Richard van Santen

he Waaslandhaven is the part of the Port of Antwerp located on the left bank of the River Scheldt. This port area is home to a large number of chemical corporations. These companies require a significant amount of energy to keep their production processes operational. In the near future, this energy can be delivered to them with the Waaslandhaven Steam Network that is currently being constructed for ECLUSE by AHP, a joint venture in which A.Hak and Petrogas participate. AHP was also awarded the order to maintain the new infrastructure for the first ten years after its commissioning. GREEN ENERGY LOCK

This steam infrastructure will form a network of steam and condensate pipelines with an approximate length of five kilometres. Once completed, it will form the connection between the thermic waste processing facilities owned by Indaver/SLECO and the customers of the generated heat in the port area. The word ‘écluse’ is French for a lock as used in channels. The ECLUSE cooperation therefore presents itself as having the keys to the ‘lock for green energy’. It’s a fitting name as well, as the annual

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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

SUSTAINABILTY AWARD

carbon emissions are expected to decrease with 100,000 tonnes once the steam network is commissioned. The steam is not first converted into energy, but rather offered directly to its users, significantly increasing the energy-efficiency in the process. A.HAK AND PETROGAS

Five large chemical corporations have already subscribed to use this steam for their production processes in the coming ten years. Other entities may join this collective later. The steam network is being built partially underground and partially aboveground. To maximise the efficiency of transporting the steam, all pipelines are well-insulated and the steam will be transported under 40 bars of pressure and at the high temperature of 400 degrees Celsius. The condensate will be used to heat buildings with a condensate return pipeline. A.Hak and Petrogas, joined in the entity AHP, will commence the project’s execution in February. Preparatory work however is well underway, a process in which all stakeholders are consistently consulted. And there’s quite a few of them: customer ECLUSE and a cooperation between Indaver, SLECO, Infras, FINEG and the association for companies on the Scheldt’s left bank. PARTNERSHIPS

Indaver is a well-known partner in the Belgian market for sustainable and economically responsible waste processing. SLECO is short for Sludge & Co, which indicates the remarkable character of the Waste-to-Energy plant operated by Indaver/SLECO. This plant in the Port of Antwerp uses the fluidised bed facility owned by SLECO which enables it to process both sludge and solid waste. With an annual capacity

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY a.hak magazine

Once the heating network of ECLUSE is fully operational, it will instantly become one of Europe’s largest industrial heating clusters. And, it instantly generates no less than 10% of all green heating produced in Flanders. With these results, it significantly contributes to the objectives Belgium has to attain to comply with the provisions of the Paris climate treaty that came into effect in early November. This was a decisive reason for the expert jury to award the very first sustainability award of the Antwerp Port Community to ECLUSE. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of ECLUSE, proudly accepted the prize on Wednesday 16 November 2016. ‘An annual reduction of carbon emissions of 100,000 tonnes per year, not consuming any fossil fuels, stimulating renewable energy and anchoring the chemical industry to the Port of Antwerp. These are just a few of the benefits the ECLUSE network has to offer. We take great pride in our ability to achieve this together with all our partners, and with it, build towards a more sustainable society’, Verbeeck said in his acceptance speech.

decades of experience in all sorts of infrastructural projects, it offers solutions varying between building pipeline bridges for aboveground road crossings to deploying drilling methods that cross roads and other obstacles underground.

of one million tonnes of sludge and waste, and a harvest of 250 MW of energy, the Indaver/SLECO plant is the largest European waste processing corporation in its category. Infrax is a joint venture between five grid managers that operate, maintain and develop utility services requiring pipelines. The partners in this venture are Infrax Limburg, Iveg, Infrax West, PBE and Riobra. Fineg is a holding that invests in energy projects and is owned by 16 municipalities. The local association ‘Linkerscheldeover’ (Left Scheldt bank) is responsible for the management and zoning policy in this area of the Port of Antwerp. The association ensures that plots are prepared for construction and grants concessions to companies, while also arranging expropriations and advising the government about port area expansions.

‘ This will achieve an annual reduction of carbon emissions of 100,000 tonnes’ If no alternative is available than temporarily closing down a road, clearly indicated diversions are efficiently deployed that help road users to reach their destinations.

FUTURE CUSTOMERS

An effort is made to make proper agreements with all future customers and other companies located in the area. AHP takes every possible measure to keep all companies located along the construction route accessible during the work. To prevent nuisance for local traffic, keeping roads and terrain entrance roads free from blockades is a top priority. This is when experience becomes important, and A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities, the A.Hak division with the leading role in AHP, has it. With its

ACTIVELY UPDATING

Starting in February 2017, when the construction work will officially commence, all stakeholders will have ample opportunity to ask any question they like during the weekly walk-in session in the temporary AHP offices. Prior to the preparatory phase, kick-off meetings were held with all customers and other stakeholders. Updates in work progress are also shown on the website www.ecluse.be.

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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

The repair of a production water pipeline owned by NAM with a trenchless pipe-in-pipe method, has led to A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities being awarded the prestigious ISTT No-Dig Award 2016 in the Rehabilitation Projects category. TEXT Richard van Santen

ISTT NO-DIG AWARD 2016 FOR A.HAK PIPELINES & FACILITIES

Relining project wins award

he national Dutch oil corporation (NAM) extracts oil from a large oil field in the Netherlands with a minimum projected lifespan of 25 years. A by-product of this oil extraction process is salt water that is discharged with a production water pipeline to the Dutch Twente region. Here, the salt water is stored in the empty caverns of former gas fields. On 16 April 2015, a local municipality discovered a leak in this production water pipeline. A further inspection proved that the inner pipeline wall had been affected by a bacteria at multiple places along its trajectory. This forced a shutdown of the entire oil field. REPLACE OR REPAIR?

Customer NAM faced a difficult decision: did they had to replace the entire 45 km pipeline, or would a repair suffice? To solve this challenge, NAM teamed up with aQuaintance, a joint venture between A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities, Tebodin and Engie which is responsible for the EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction of NAM’s onshore pipeline infrastructure. Eventually it was decided that a repair was the best option. A repair had multiple significant benefits in comparison to a replacement. It wasn’t necessary to excavate long trenches along the entire trajectory, dozens of trees would not have to be cut down and traffic nuisance was much more limited, while an open excavation would require extracting a large amount of ground water from

OIL a.hak magazine

the soil. Furthermore, an entire replacement of the pipeline would be much more expensive and take a whole lot more time. Not only because of the work itself, but also because of the abundant permit procedures.

of this new pipeline however, as opposed to the 18" size of the original pipeline, does lead to a capacity decrease for the oil field. This pipeline therefore is a temporary solution, projected to remain operational for four to six years.

CHOICE FOR RELINING

INGENIEOUS SOLUTIONS

The choice was therefore made to repair the pipeline, or reline it to be more precise: this is a repair in which the original, steel pipeline becomes a jacket pipeline, in which a smaller, steel-reinforced synthetic pipeline made from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is inserted. FlexSteel delivered this special HDPE pipeline and A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities, responsible for pipeline constructions within the aQuaintance joint venture, completed the repair. By opting for an HDPE pipeline, the chance of future leaks is considerably reduced, as this material is much less prone to corrosion or deterioration caused by bacteria. The 8" diameter

To prevent the aforementioned disadvantages of a pipeline replacement, an ingenious work method was devised. Stable, safe construction pits were excavated to access the underground pipeline at 60 individual locations along the trajectory. In these pits, pipeline segments with eight metre lengths were removed. Once inspected for any remaining water or other substances, the inner walls of the pipeline were lubricated with Ecoglide, after which the new HDPE pipeline could be pulled into the existing pipeline with winches. This enabled large segments of the entire tra jectory to be repaired in individual operations.

Corrosion-resistant shield Steel reinforcement Corrosion-resistant lining

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Once the entire new pipeline was pulled in, the original pipeline was sealed with flanges and now functions as a jacket pipeline for a significant part of the entire trajectory. The old pipeline still serves a purpose though, as it protects the inner HDPE pipeline from being damaged by external influences such as nearby excavation projects. PROOF OF CONCEPT

In theory, this was the best method by far to get the production water pipeline operational again. For a project this important however, theory was insufficient for NAM and A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities. Although the pipe-in-pipe method in itself was not new, it was never before used for such a great length. The trajectory also contains a number of sharp turns. Before work could start, a proof of concept was created: the method was to be proven in a controlled test environment. A.Hak Pipelines & Facilities trusted on sister company A.Hak Electron which has great experience in working with winches to pull electricity cables into jacket pipelines. A test environment was built at one of the A.Hak Industrial locations nearby, where extensive testing was carried out to test if the wenches were strong enough to pull the HDPE pipeline into the jacket pipe without damaging it. The selection for this unique pipeline built by FlexSteel was partially based on its strength to withstand the pulling force, as well as its flexibility to find its way through the many, challenging bends in the pipeline.

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‘ The proof of concept was delivered prior to completing the repairs’ SUCCESSFUL EXECUTION

The expertise of A.Hak’s Equipment Department was deployed to modify the required equipment. For this project, they designed and constructed a special machine that inserted the exact right amount of Ecoglide. As other equipment, this special lubrication winch had to comply with stringent international guidelines (API 17J) and the Dutch quality and safety standard (NEN 3650). It proved that this particular meticulous approach, including excellent care for the environment and safety, persuaded the jury of the International Society for Trenchless Technology (ISTT) to award the prestigious ISTT No-Dig Award 2016 for this project. All work was carried out in the second semester of 2016, and once independent certifying organisation Lloyd’s had approved the materials, equipment, design and execution, and the authorities had provided final approval for the construction, the repaired pipeline was recommissioned.

To further reinforce the North-western European electricity grid, a fourth 380 kV connections is being built between Germany and The Netherlands. As part of this project, A.Hak Electron will create the underground connections between this new connection and two existing 150 kV infrastructures. The first kilometres have already been commissioned. TEXT Richard van Santen PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten van der Voorde

Border less energy BUILDING A RELIABLE ELECTRICITY GRID

he Dutch electricity grid is an important link in the Northern European grid and has many international connections. High voltage connections exist with Norway, England, two with Belgium and three with Germany. Grid owners TenneT and Amprion are currently building a fourth connection between Doetinchem in The Netherlands and Wesel in Germany. Dutch corporation TenneT is responsible for the trajectory from Doetinchem to the border, while the German Amprion takes over from there. To connect this new 380 kV line to the existing 150 kV regional network, A.Hak Electron is constructing three double circuit underground cable connections with an approximate total length of 8.5 km. Furthermore, A.Hak Electron also creates a temporary connection in the area. WHY BUILD IT?

Three reasons exist to build this fourth high voltage connection between the two countries. First: it helps to further develop the internal North-western European electricity market. The European Union strives to create such a market in which electricity is generated where it is most economic, and instantly deliver it to wherever demand exists. A network with sufficient transport capacity is a requirement for that. Second: this

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The cable is d elivered in s egments with lengths up to 1,300 metres on impressively sized drum rolls.

new connection increases the reliability of the entire international network. If any power plant goes offline anywhere, then other plants must be able to compensate, regardless of the country they are located in. Third: a strong and versatile network enables further growth of sustainable energy, as the less constant production of solar and wind energy can be properly buffered and distributed by the network.

‘ A strong network enables further growth of sustainable energy’ TOGETHER IN THE PYLON

The new 380 kV connection is constructed aboveground with a new pylon type that looks better in the area it is located in. For customer Reddyn, A.Hak Electron connects the existing 150 kV lines to this new high voltage connection. For two of these connections, A.Hak has built an underground connection from a local substation. ‘The pylon for the 380 kV connection is located just before that station’, explains Project Leader Remko Vierhout. ‘At this location, the new cable installed by us connects with the 380 kV cables, after which they jointly proceed up to the pylon. This underground section of 2.2 km is almost completed. The connections to the pylon and the substation will be built halfway in 2017.’ OLD PYLONS REMOVED

The existing, aboveground 150 kV cables between two other locations also needed to be connected to the new 380 kV connection. ‘As they crossed the new connection, they could also

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be installed into the pylons at these crossing locations’, Vierhout explains. ‘From the substation up to that crossing, we installed a 3.9 km underground cable, after which the old pylons were removed. This trajectory segment is already operational.’ TEMPORARY CONNECTION

Later in 2017, another 1.3 km cable connection will be installed from a new multi-purpose pylon to

CABLES VERSUS PIPELINES

Similar as in pipeline projects, the 150 kV cables are installed with open excavations when possible. At locations where this cannot be done, for instance due to obstacles at the trajectory, a jacket pipe is installed underground, after which the cable it pulled into it. Next to similarities, the installation of cables and pipelines also differ significantly from one another. Project Manager Remko Vierhout is also vastly experienced in pipeline constructions and explains. ‘During pipeline projects, the pipe-laying crew moves along the trajectory segment by segment. Strings of multiple pipeline segments are lowered into the trench and welded together. The trench is then refilled and the entire crew proceeds to the next segment where the process of excavating, lowering and welding starts over. For cable projects however, cables with up to 1,300 metre lengths are delivered to the site as a single element. The reel trailer remains stationary, while the cable is pulled into the trench with either a wench or an automated transport system.’ This special transport system, developed in-house by A.Hak, is often preferred, especially for trajectories with many turns that would normally put significant stress on a cable installed with a wench. While installing cables underground, the trench must remain open along the entire trajectory, changing other requirements such as dewatering as well.

a pylon in the existing infrastructure. Crossing the Old IJssel river was done with a drilling project, carried out by sister company A.Hak Drillcon just as other crossings along the route such as those for railroads. A temporary connection was also created by A.Hak Electron in the same region, measuring 350 metres that were vital to the continuity. ‘Once the project is completed halfway in 2017, this connection will be removed again’, says Vierhout. Once all work is completed, the existing

high voltage pylons over a total 18 km length will also be demolished, both in open fields and in local residential areas. COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT

Although the new pylons for the 380 kV connection are much better integrated into the environment than the old pylons, many residents prefer underground connections. Aboveground constructions for 380 kV

c onnections are h owever the global standard. ‘Some appeal procedures were initiated, in some cases all the way up to the highest court in the country’, says Remko Vierhout. ‘This also meant the project was being watched very closely. Although we only worked on the underground cables, communicating with the local community was critically important to us as well. I take pride in seeing how well our approach was received by both the local c ommunity and our customer.’

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‘Care for the com munity pays off’ TEXT Richard van Santen PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten van der Voorde

GAS, WATER, ELECTRICITY a.hak magazine

The southern ring road in the Dutch city of Groningen is the primary traffic artery in the Northern Netherlands. The Southern Ring Improvement project increases accessibility of the city and region as well as comfort and safety. The road will be reconstructed between 2016 and 2021, but before work can start on the road itself, the underground infrastructure must be taken care of. After having completed the first phase of this project, A.Hak Infranet was also awarded the second phase.

ables and pipelines must always remain accessible, for instance to solve any malfunction that may occur. This is why they are often constructed adjacent to roads and viaducts. A considerable amount of important infrastructure is located near the southern ring road of the Dutch city of Groningen, used to transport drinking water, gas, electricity

PRACTICAL ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT

and waste water. Many of these cables and pipelines are installed underground at locations where work will be carried out, which means they must be diverted. In the summer edition of this magazine, we already announced that A.Hak Infranet had won the tender for this first project phase based on having submitted the plan with the best care for the environment. In the second phase, consulting, informing and deliberating remains just as important as excavating, drilling and connecting.

ACTUAL PEOPLE

VISIBLY PRESENT

‘Some nuisance cannot be prevented’, Van der Veen continues’ ‘Even if we wouldn’t encounter a single problem along the way, and encountering some unexpected challenges is always part of the job. Despite of this, we were still able to work harmoniously with the local residents and other stakeholders. We do so by actively sharing as much information as possible. During walk-in hours, on our website, by quickly reacting to e-mails and even with WhatsApp messages. For many people, this meant that we became actual people instead of an anonymous company closing down the street’.

‘We try to behave ourselves as guests in someone’s house, but that’s not always easy’, says Siebert van der Veen on behalf of A.Hak Infranet. ‘Most guests would probably not excavate the major city centre road and a critical artery for local traffic. We do. And we’re not only busy working with excavation machines, but we also carry out various drilling projects and work with ground suction excavators. One could therefore say that we’re quite a visibly present guest in this city.’

‘This of course works both ways, as it’s much easier to understand each other’s point of view once you get to know each other. With one of the residents for example, we only talked to his lawyer initially. After having met personally, our relation dramatically improved and we even organised an open house where interested people were invited to watch the drilling project directly next to his house.’

‘We became actual people…’

‘… instead of an anonymous company closing down the street.’

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GAS, WATER, ELECTRICITY

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to imagine an issue of A.Hak Magazine without an item about district heating. Our companies prove to be very successful in this growing sector. TEXT Richard van Santen PHOTOGRAPHY Maarten van der Voorde

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY a.hak magazine

istrict heating is exponentially growing internationally. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a logical development, considering our societal objective to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels. Using residual heat from power plants and waste processing plants to heat our houses and companies therefore significantly reduces carbon emissions. A.Hak has decades of experience in the district heating expertise. In previous editions of this magazine we already reported on various projects in Amsterdam and the Alkmaar region, while other regions continue to grow as well.

DISTRICT HEATING DORDRECHT

For customer HVC, A.Hak Infranet is working on the expansion of the district heating network for which the initial construction started in 2014. By now, over eleven kilometres of this new infrastructure has been constructed, and the district heating network heats over ten thousand homes. This significantly contributes to making the city more sustainable: Every connection uses 75% more clean energy, the equivalent of having 22 solar panels or not driving 14,000 kilometres by car. Between June and November 2016, a new pipeline was installed in a densely populated

District heating continues to expand

area near the city centre. A part of this segment was completed by A.Hak Drillcon with a special horizontal directional drilling. As this area might contain explosives, the pilot drilling was combined with an explosive ordnance survey.

and 70 companies and institutions. Once operational, this Green Infrastructure will help to save over 26 million cubic metres of natural gas every single year, resulting in an approximate reduction of 45 million kg of carbon emissions each year.

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

In October 2016, operator HGN and A.Hak signed a contract for the initial phase. This consists of the initial 2,500 metres of the district heating infrastructure. A unique component of this agreement is that A.Hak will also provide for the maintenance and management of this new aboveground pipeline infrastructure for the coming 30 years.

The state of the art industrial facility for chemical corporations Chemelot in Limburg in the Southern Netherlands, is the initiating point of a new Green Infrastructure as well. Here, residual industrial heat generated by the chemical industry and biomass plant BES will be used to heat 5,000 homes

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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

‘Maintaining good relations with the people around you is essential’ SAYS THE SITE MANAGER

THE EASTERN NETHERLANDS

Installation of 150 kV cable connections for Reddyn/ Tennet TSO

A.Hak made a great effort to consult and deliberate with local stakeholders in the Eastern Netherlands, during a project in which multiple existing 150 kV cable connections were connected to a new 280 kV connection between Germany and The Netherlands. ‘Some people were hesitant about the arrival of these aboveground high-voltage pylons.’ This actually fell outside of our realm of responsibility, as we were there to install cables underground which would eliminate a number of old overhead pylons. Local stakeholders however, were not always aware of this difference. For us this meant that we invested in the critical aspect of maintaining good relations with the people around us. I take pride in hearing that our approach was greatly appreciated by both local stakeholders and our customer.’

Remko Vierhout PROJECT LEADER A.HAK

Read the full item on page 23 of this magazine.