Design and Construction of the Energy Berthing Dock and Access Pier at the Esso Bahamas Clifton Terminal Facility

The Esso Bahamas Clifton Terminal supplies a large majority of all fuel to New Providence Island (Nassau) and the outlying islands. Part of the terminal facilities includes a fuel distribution dock that provides berthing/mooring for small tankers that supply fuel throughout the Bahamas' islands in the Caribbean. This project involved replacing the existing dock, access pier and pipe rack that was undersized for the newly commissioned M/T Ocean Energy tanker and which needed upgrading due to damage from Hurricane Frances on September 3, 2004. The new dock and access pier were realigned to optimize accessibility for the tankers by sea and for terminal personnel by land. In addition, the new alignment enabled existing operations to continue with minimal disturbance and shutdown to the existing facility during construction. The focus of this paper is on the challenges in designing and constructing the new berthing facility and access pier in an aggressive environment which includes rough seas, hurricanes, unique terrain and highly variable subsurface conditions. This project sets a new standard for this type of facility in the oil industry for its functionality, flexibility and safety in the Bahamas and Caribbean. The cost of construction was approximately $4 million (USD). The paper will address the design and construction issues associated with the project including the structural design of the various components, utilizing ExxonMobil Global Practices as a design basis, along with establishing essential loads including wave forces acting on the dolphins and access pier. A discussion of the structural analysis of the dolphins and access pier will include an overview of the structural models developed with the anticipated loads. Results of the analyses will be presented as well as the material selections to best suit the environmental conditions, operational constraints and strict safety requirements maintained by Esso.