Buckeye Partners, L.P.

Piping Tie-In to Export Pipeline | Corpus Christi, Texas
buckeye-parnters-3d-laser-scanning

An Opportunity for Growth

Buckeye’s Gulf Coast regional hub in Corpus Christi is a world-class operation offering marine terminalling, storage, and processing for liquid petroleum products. When another company added new neighboring pipelines, Buckeye saw an opportunity to expand their capacity. Buckeye enlisted S. T. Hudson to help them connect their oil terminal to these adjacent pipelines—increasing the potential for throughput and profits.

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Project Goals

Buckeye’s success relies on their ability to transport as much product as possible. Therefore, any opportunity to expand operations offers an advantageous edge. The goals for this project were focused on improving Buckeye’s capacity to move products through their terminal and into the pipelines.

Gain Precise Measurements

Buckeye needed to understand the sizes required for the addition. Laser scanning would provide accurate measurements.

Move More Product

Connecting to adjacent pipelines would allow Buckeye to transport product from their terminal and out into the new pipeline network.

New Way to Get More Throughput

By utilizing piping tie-ins, Buckeye could pursue an additional avenue to increase profits.

Key Data Points

3
Separate
Tank Fields
10,000
Feet of
Piping Tie-Ins
10
Months
Start to Finish

Our Team

Want to learn more about our individual expertise? Get to know our team!

Robert Hudson, P.E.

President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Hudson, P.E. Robert Hudson, P.E.

Robert Hudson, P.E.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Hudson is a Senior Civil/Structural Engineer with over 40 years of experience in the design and construction of marine facilities. He has special expertise in construction methods and estimating. Over the course of his career, Mr. Hudson has been involved in a wide range of construction activities, with emphasis on marine structures, bridges and pile foundations.

In 2002, Mr. Hudson became President and Chief Operating officer of S. T. Hudson Engineers, Inc and continues to serve in that capacity today. Mr. Hudson is a Registered Professional Engineer in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. His professional affiliations include The Ports of Philadelphia Maritime Society; The Deep Foundation Institute; The American Society of Civil Engineers and The National Society of Professional Engineers.

James Thomas

Chief Operating Officer & Vice President
James Thomas James Thomas

James Thomas

Chief Operating Officer & Vice President

Mr. Thomas is Hudson’s Chief Operating Officer and has over 35 years of broad experience in the planning, design, management and execution of marine construction and dredging projects.

Mr. Thomas has worked on projects throughout the United States, the Caribbean, South America and the Middle East. His marine construction and dredging experience includes participation in small to large scale capital works, maintenance and superfund projects. He has managed the construction of offshore ocean ship berthing facilities as well as the construction of harbor berth facilities and terminals.

Leslie (Hudson) Gerhard

Vice President
Leslie (Hudson) Gerhard Leslie (Hudson) Gerhard

Leslie (Hudson) Gerhard

Vice President

Ms. Gerhard is Vice President at S. T. Hudson Engineers, Inc. with over 15 years of experience in marketing, company operations, contract administration, and client relationships. She is responsible for day-to-day office operations, generating and overseeing proposal submissions, marketing efforts, contract administration, team recruitment, and coordination and administration of the summer internship program. In addition, she is involved in developing business among existing clients and new clients which contribute significantly to corporate revenues.

Ms. Gerhard is part of the fourth generation of Hudson family members working in the business, working side by side with her father, Robert S. Hudson, P.E., to lead S. T. Hudson Engineers, Inc.

Anthony DePasquale, P.E.

Vice President & Director of Marine Engineering and Environmental Services
Anthony DePasquale, P.E. Anthony DePasquale, P.E.

Anthony DePasquale, P.E.

Vice President & Director of Marine Engineering and Environmental Services

Mr. DePasquale is a Civil & Geo-technical Engineer with 37 years of experience as a designer, construction manager, negotiator, and permitting consultant with the US Army Corps of Engineers. He specializes in the design, management, and construction of flood protection systems, bulkhead rehabilitation, and waste and dredge disposal containment facilities.

In addition, he has reviewed and negotiated numerous construction contract claims, permitting issues, and engineering disputes. Mr. DePasquale's experience has given S.T. Hudson valuable insight into the permitting process and environmental impact assessments from the viewpoint of the USACE and other regulatory agencies.

William Jenkins

Vice President & Director of Marine Services
William Jenkins William Jenkins

William Jenkins

Vice President & Director of Marine Services

Mr. Jenkins has 17 years of experience and a comprehensive knowledge of various hydrographic technologies and methods.

Recently, Mr. Jenkins has applied his talents to implementing various multibeam hydrographic surveys for ship navigation safety, object detection, clearance surveys, sediment transfer surveys, pre- and post-dredge surveys, and bridge inspection scour monitoring.

Project Details

Using state-of-the-art 3D laser scanning equipment to model existing conditions, S. T. Hudson created accurate 3D models to design the connection of the Buckeye Texas Processing tank fields to third-party exporting pipelines. The 3D models enabled S. T. Hudson to remotely design the manifold connections, rack piping, and piping tie-ins, eliminating the need for multiple trips to the site.

Buckeye Partners transports oil products, including crude, gasoline, and diesel, from their terminal and into pipelines for various types of customers. Located in Corpus Christi, their Gulf Coast hub provides world-class terminalling, storage, and processing. When another pipeline company was installing new oil pipelines that ran adjacent to the Buckeye Corpus Christi terminal, Buckeye wanted to be able to connect three separate tanks to these new pipelines—which would greatly expand their capacity to move oil products.

The project began with an assessment of the current facility. Using the already-existing pipes, S. T. Hudson was tasked with figuring out what size new piping had to be to accommodate the new specifications and needs, as well as where piping needed to be connected. Additionally, Buckeye knew that they wanted to move a certain amount of product per hour, requiring S. T. Hudson to do hydraulic modeling and calculations to determine the appropriate sizing to accommodate this. Using the information gathered from 3D laser scanning, the S. T. Hudson team was able to create precise 3D models to build the necessary additions.

Project Highlights

  • Robust assessment to create full project scope
  • Hydraulic modeling to determine proper sizing
  • 3D laser scanning of existing manifold areas and pipe racks
  • 3D modeling of existing manifold areas and pipe racks
  • Manifold design of piping tie-ins to export pipeline
  • Piping and pipe support design

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