Page 110 - FINAL Phillips 66 50 Year Book

a 62-day project window between the monobouy being removed
from service to the first tanker successfully mooring and crude being
transferred through the new pipeline.

The monobouy was towed to the nearby port of Hull, where it stayed
in dry dock for 24 days to be cleaned, overhauled, inspected and
repainted. A new hydraulic control system was installed on the buoy
to operate a subsea valve installed in the new pipeline end manifold
(PLEM), which was located at the head of the subsea pipeline. While the
monobouy was being overhauled the final sections of the pipeline were
welded together on a 135m beached barge. The pipeline string was
pulled down a launch-way from the barge, along a subsea trench and
into place using 400 ton linear winch located on a pull barge anchored
in the estuary.

Extensive planning and stakeholder engagement was instrumental in
overcoming the obstacles this project presented – and it was completed
on time, with crude oil successfully delivered to the refinery in time for
start-up.

In the May 1969 newsletter, Conocoverage, a vision of the year
2000 was offered. Humber’s manager, George Peters, told a
dinner gathering of the Institute of Petroleum’s local branch that
the refinery’s capacity would have increased fourfold and almost
completely controlled by computers.

His forecast of an eight-lane Humber Bridge proved half-true, while
his idea of a giant marina at Spurn Head did not become a reality.
Thankfully, his prediction of wages increasing to £4,000 a year in
2000 was off the mark!
Above: Tetney Tank Farm with the monobuoy visible on the horizon.
Right: Immingham in Bloom petrol pumps fabricated on site by Humber
Refinery apprentices.