[Safety Walk with Thomas] World-class Offshore Infrastructure Project Drives the New Era of Energy Transition [安全誠行] 世界級海上基建工程 開創能源轉型新時代

As impacts of climate change intensifies with more frequent occurrences worldwide, we must tackle the source of the problems to mitigate these impacts. The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has been encouraging the industry to actively adopt innovative thinking and technology to help build Hong Kong into a climate-resilient city and achieve carbon neutrality goals. To enhance Hong Kong’s fuel supply stability, CLP Power and HK Electric have collaborated to build a world-class offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Hong Kong. This project utilises a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which converts LNG back into its gaseous state. The regasified natural gas is then transported to power plants of two power companies through subsea pipelines for electricity generation. This project, being the first of its kind in Hong Kong, promotes the use of natural gas as an important transitional fuel in power generation - plays a crucial role in implementing the long-term decarbonisation strategy outlined in the "Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2050” by supporting energy transition in Hong Kong.

The marine construction of the offshore LNG terminal began in late 2020. After over two years of construction, the terminal has officially begun its operation. Recently, Ir Thomas HO, Chairman of the CIC, together with representatives from the industry, visited the offshore LNG terminal located in the southwest waters of Hong Kong. The project team shared how they overcame numerous challenges in the offshore project which sets a remarkable milestone to Hong Kong's offshore construction work and energy transformation development.

Hand in Hand to Provide Stable Energy Supply

The limited land supply in Hong Kong makes it very difficult to build natural gas facilities in residential areas. Therefore, after comprehensive research, the project team set up the facilities in a remote location in the southwest waters of Hong Kong. This minimises the impact on residents while facilitates the transportation of natural gas with its proximity to the border, providing greater flexibility in natural gas procurement strategies. The construction of the offshore LNG terminal includes several key infrastructures such as a double berth jetty with LNG unloading equipment, FSRU vessel “Bauhinia Spirit” permanently moored at the terminal, which is the world’s largest FSRU vessel and has an LNG storage capacity of 263,000 cubic metres, and two subsea natural gas pipelines. These pipelines connect the terminal to the natural gas receiving stations at CLP Power's Black Point Power Station and HK Electric's Lamma Power Station. The scale of the project is significant, and the team overcame unprecedented engineering challenges and safety requirements. Furthermore, offshore maritime engineering is susceptible to environmental factors such as winds, waves, and weather conditions. Additionally, the remote location of the project requires the team to adapt to the new working condition. To facilitate work at the jetty, they stayed on the construction vessel, racing against time and weather to complete this forward-looking engineering feat.

In the early stages of the project, international borders were closed due to the pandemic, resulting in a halt in manpower allocation, component procurement, and transportation from both mainland China and around the world. This made the project difficult to progress. However, the project team demonstrated tremendous flexibility in construction, and reconsidered the locations of the fabrication yards, component procurement, and transportation routes within a short period of time, ensuring the project could be completed as earliest as possible.

During the visit, the project team also shared an anecdote about the construction of the subsea natural gas pipelines - while planning the two 45-kilometer and 18-kilometer pipelines, they encountered a major "obstacle" beneath the seabed. In the area designated for pipeline construction, numerous fibre optic cables have been built to facilitate communication. It made the construction of the natural gas pipelines even more challenging. Instead of using traditional pipeline laying pattern, the team displayed innovative thinking and adopted a zigzag pattern to bypass the existing fibre optic cables, overcoming another technical difficulty

Construction Using Prefabricated Components to Turn “Impossible” Into “Possible

Offshore project is susceptible to environmental factors, and especially when the manufacturing facilities and ports were put under “closed‑loop management” during the pandemic, it is more desirable to use prefabricated components to control the quality of the terminal structure. Not only does it minimise offshore construction work, but it also expedites the whole work process. The LNG terminal was assembled by using a similar method as the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) approach, which follows the principle of "factory assembly followed by the on-site installation", and successfully overcame the challenges of offshore construction. The major components of the terminal have been assembled in the fabrication yard and then completed with fixtures, fittings, equipment, piping, marine loading arms, tower cranes, etc., before being delivered to the site for installation. In addition, factory acceptance tests for major equipment and control systems were also conducted in the fabrication yard so as to minimise rectification or replacement work on-site. The hook-up stage is therefore shortened.

Workers’ Participation Is Crucial in Ensuring Safety in the Offshore Project

As part of the assembly works still needs to be carried out on-site, the safety of the construction site is crucial in this offshore project. The project adopted rigorous safety regulations, with indicators and commitments, allowing workers and employees to work with peace of mind. In addition, the project team of the offshore LNG terminal project rigorously upholds the "Safety 360" safety guidelines. They cultivate a workplace safety culture that promotes mutual support and care. Each construction worker is provided with an "Are You Safe" helmet with easily understood safety labels. This encourages safety awareness in the team and reminds each other be mindful of their own and their colleagues' working environment, taking construction safety as their responsibility.

日漸加劇的氣候變化對世界各地的影響越顯頻繁，要減緩氣候變遷的影響，我們需由源頭入手。建造業議會（議會）一直鼓勵業界積極應用創新思維及科技，協助建設香港成為具氣候韌性的城市，攜手實現「碳中和」目標。為提升發電燃料供應穩定性，中華電力及港燈合作在本港建造世界級海上液化天然氣接收站，採用浮式儲存再氣化的大型裝置，把液化天然氣進行再氣化再經海底管道運送到兩電的發電廠。項目是香港首項同類設施，有利進一步提高天然氣發電比例，並為落實《香港氣候行動藍圖 2050》中闡述的長遠減碳策略發揮關鍵作用，支持香港實踐能源轉型。

海上液化天然氣接收站的海事工程自2020年下旬展開，工程歷時兩年多，接收站現已正式投入運作。早前議會主席何安誠工程師聯同業界代表到訪位於香港西南水域的海上液化天然氣接收站項目，了解團隊如何克服離岸工程上遇到的重重挑戰，並為香港海上工程及本港能源轉型之發展寫下標誌性的一頁。

同心合力為穩定能源供應

本港土地供應緊張，難以將有關天然氣設施建於鄰近民居的地區，故此工程團隊研究將設施選址在偏遠的香港西南海域，此舉不但可減少對市民的影響，設施的位置亦有利天然氣運輸，使天然氣採購的策略更有彈性。海上液化天然氣接收站建造項目包括多項主要基礎設施：一個備有液化天然氣卸載設備的雙泊位碼頭、 一艘長期停泊在碼頭，屬於目前全球最大、液化天然氣儲存容量達 263,000 立方米的浮式儲存再氣化裝置船「紫荊精神號」 (Bauhinia Spirit)，以及兩條海底天然氣管道，分別連接接收站碼頭至中華電力龍鼓灘發電廠和港燈南丫發電廠的天然氣接收站，可見建築項目規模龐大，工程難度及施工安全要求都是超乎想像。再者，離岸海事工程易受風浪及天氣等環境因素影響，加上項目選址偏遠，因此，項目團隊上下必須改變工作模式，於工程船上生活，並與時間及天氣競賽以完成此前瞻的工程。

在工程開始初期，團隊便遇上疫情封關，導致與內地及世界各地的人力編配、部件採購及運輸基本停擺，使項目難以推進。工程團隊迎難而上，破天荒在短時間內重整整個模組組裝的施工選址、零件採購及運輸模式，從建築方面發揮最大的靈活性，務求工程得以儘快完成。

參觀期間團隊亦分享了在建設海底天然氣管道時的故事—— 在計劃興建兩條分別長45及18公里的海底天然氣管道時，團隊又在海底遇上一大「障礙」: 在計劃興建管道的水域中，海床已有不少通訊光纖電纜，令建設天然氣管道的工作變得更加困難。團隊勇於創新，摒棄傳統鋪建天然氣管道的方式，改以罕見的「Ｚ」形態鋪設繞過現有的光纖電纜，再次克服技術上難關。

預製組件建築法 把「不可能」變成「可能」

海上工程易受環境影響，加上疫情期間內地所有組裝工場及港口均實施了閉環管理，因此以預製組件建築法建造碼頭結構有助質量控制，更可盡量減少海上施工工程同時加快施工流程。海上液化天然氣接收站項目以類近組裝合成法（MiC）——「工廠組裝、現場安裝」的原理建成，成功克服海上大部分現場施工的挑戰。碼頭的主要部件在青島及珠海的工廠建造，並與固定裝置、配件、設備、管道、船用卸料臂和塔式起重機等一併組裝，再以船運的方式運往目的地安裝，完成剩下的施工程序。此外，主要設備和控制系統的出廠驗收測試亦在工廠內進行，以盡量減少現場修改或更換工作，大大減少連接工程所需時間。

確保海上工程安全 工人的參與必不可少

部分裝嵌工作仍需在現場進行施工，因此工地安全亦是此海上工程十分重要的一環。工程列明嚴謹的安全守則、制定指標及承諾，讓工人和員工可安心投入工作。除此之外，海上液化天然氣接收站項目的工程團隊嚴謹推行「Safety 360」安全守則，培養施工團隊互相協助、互相關懷的工地安全文化，每位施工人員均獲發「Are You Safe」頭盔，並貼上簡單易明的安全標籤，鼓勵團隊成員時刻具備安全意識，關心自身及工作伙伴的工作環境，視工地安全為己任。