Brunswick Tooling devises cutting equipment for North Sea gas pipeline contract

Aug 17 2009 by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Brunswick Tooling devises cutting equipment for North Sea gas pipeline contract

A FIRM making specialist cutting tools has completed on of its most demanding assignments.

Brighouse-based Brunswick Tooling produced cutters used to make a hole in massive metal gas pipes running 2,500ft below the North Sea off the Norwegian coast – to enable technicians to fit valves and connect additional pipes.

The firm, headed by managing director Paul Briggs, began work on the project last December – building prototype cutters and testing them with help from Huddersfield engineering firm Thomas Broadbent and Sons.

The cutters were shipped to customer Clearwell Subsea, based in Aberdeen, and fitted to a specially-designed drill head, which was lowered from a ship to the pipeline.

Cutting – known as hot tapping – was carried out by remote control without the gas supply having to be interrupted.

Earlier this month, Clearwell Subsea declared the operation a success – opening the way for Brunswick to supply similar cutting tools for other undersea pipeline projects across the world.

Mr Briggs said: “We were contacted by Clearwell Subsea to produce the cutters because of our reputation as manufacturers of specialist cutting tools.

“The technology has long existed to allow divers to cut plates into pipes below the sea, but at 2,500ft that is too deep for any diver to go.