Offshore Technology International 33

Offshore Pipeline Integrity Services & Solutions

THE DEVELOPMENT OF the huge oil and gas reserves offshore, especially in deep water, raises specifi c challenges to operators and contractors. These are not only technical challenges related to the depth of the hydrocarbon-bearing layers, but also related to developing the pipeline transportation infrastructure required to move the hydrocarbons from deep offshore to onshore terminals or refi ning centers.

Most of the world’s pipelines, including offshore risers, fl ow lines, and export lines are built using steel pipe. As noted by many industry experts, pipeline integrity for more than the nominal 25-35 years of service is an important aspect in any pipeline’s design, construction and operation. Pipelines should not fail during their service life because such failures could lead to human, environmental, and economic costs. In this context, fl ow assurance is critical for deepwater projects in order to avoid partial or total pipeline blockages.

End-to-end fl ow assurance There are many ways of approaching the fl ow assurance issue in offshore pipelines. One of the most commonly used is to apply specially-designed fl ow assurance coatings on the pipe and fi eld joint area. Most of the industry’s fl ow assurance coating providers use a “one size fi ts all” approach by offering only certain types of fl ow assurance coatings regardless of the project parameters – water depth, maximum operating temperature, installation method – or only linepipe coatings, which leaves the fi eld joint coating falling under the scope of another subcontractor. This can create long-term issues for the pipeline operator, such as suboptimal

thermal performance, coating damages, as well as various adhesion issues at the linepipe/fi eld joint coating interface.

Bredero Shaw is the only fl ow assurance coating provider in the industry that approaches this issue with holistic end-to-end solutions. It provides end-to-end anti-corrosion and fl ow assurance systems that include the factory-applied line pipe coating and a highly compatible fi eld joint coating installed at a location selected by the customer – onshore on spoolbases or multi-jointing facilities or offshore on pipelay vessels.

An end-to-end fl ow assurance coating system offers valuable benefi ts to the offshore pipeline operators and contractors. Operators get guaranteed long-term thermal performance for the entire pipeline, an optimal thermal design that optimizes the fl ow assurance costs, as well as engineering and thermal design support from the early stages of the project. Pipeline installation contractors benefi t from the linepipe/fi eld joint coating compatibility as any interface issues are eliminated.

Full range of fl ow assurance solutionsBredero Shaw is also the only company in the industry that offers a full range of fl ow assurance coating solutions, allowing operators to use the optimal system based on the specifi c project parameters, such as water depth, maximum operating temperature, and installation method. Two of the high-performance fl ow assurance solutions are briefl y described below.

The Thermotite® PP-based linepipe coatings have been introduced by a predecessor company of Bredero Shaw and gradually developed and improved; they are today applied in various multilayer confi gurations, including solid, glass syntactic and foam coating systems. The linepipe coating is complemented by the fully-compatible Thermotite® IMPP fi eld joint coating – essentially, a three-layer systems made of an FBE layer, a copolymer adhesive layer and an injection-moulded solid polypropylene insulation layer. The Thermotite® PP-based end-to-end systems have been dramatically improved since the fi rst commercial application in 1991 and are today applied by Bredero Shaw around the world on offshore pipelines with high operating temperatures.

Using the well-known insulation properties of styrenic polymers the Bredero Shaw R&D team developed Thermotite® ULTRA™, an innovative multilayer coating system with excellent thermal performance, good ductility and excellent impact resistance. The Thermotite® ULTRA™ fl ow assurance system was launched in 2009 and has already been applied on offshore pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico and the Barents Sea. A key element of the successful launch of this novel coating was again

Flow assurance solutions for offshore pipelinesVlad Popovici, Marketing Manager, Bredero Shaw

Figure 1 – End-to-end fl ow assurance coating system installed by Bredero Shaw

Offshore Technology International 34

Offshore Pipeline Integrity Services & Solutions

Contact information

the end-to-end coating approach through the development of an injection-moulded fi eld joint coating that is perfectly compatible with the linepipe coating and that offers equivalent long-term thermal performance.

Portability for fl ow assurance coatingsThe traditional model for coating steel pipe uses a fi xed, specialized coating facility often located at a steel pipe mill. This model is increasingly challenged today by the ability of innovative mobile pipeline coating technologies developed by Bredero Shaw to reduce pipe transportation costs, simplify pipeline project logistics, provide end-to-end coating systems, and increase the local content of the project.

Brigden™ is an innovative modular portable plant concept developed by Bredero Shaw that is capable of applying a full range of anti-corrosion and fl ow assurance pipe coating solutions using proven, best in class process technology while delivering the same quality and output as a fi xed plant.

Brigden™ is a turnkey coating facility assembled from process modules supplied in standard size, delivered in specially-designed shipping containers that are ISO certifi ed. The plant can be assembled on site in approximately eight weeks saving much needed time in what is usually a tight schedule. The basic layout can be customized by adding more modules to the baseline layout to expand the plant to accommodate double joints or large diameter pipe. Additional modules can also be added to facilitate the application of any fl ow assurance and anti-corrosion pipe coating system.

A Brigden™ portable coating facility is

operated by a dedicated team of Bredero Shaw coating and engineering experts – trained in continuous improvement practices and supported by regional operations resources for safe and timely manufacturing and delivery. The plant set-up and coating project execution are based on standard operating practices that are an integral part of the company-wide ShawCor Manufacturing System (SMS).

A Brigden™ mobile plant has the same production capability as a fi xed plant. Brigden™ is capable of coating pipe with an outside diameter of 220 to 1066 mm (8-42 in), lengths of 10.4-24.4 m (34-80 ft) and weight up to 484 kg/m (325 lbs/ft). The plant comes fully equipped with integrated facilities for raw materials storage, facility maintenance, and quality control and testing.

All phases of the Brigden™ coating operation, including surface preparation, pre-heat, coating application and fi nal inspection can be conducted in an enclosed area of 1,700 square m (18,000 square ft). A total area of 1.2 ha (2.8 acres) is needed to set-up the entire facility, excluding pipe storage requirements.

For the fi eld joints, Bredero Shaw’s Field Joint Center of Excellence is using the most advanced technologies to develop portable and automated fi eld joint coating equipment that can ensure the consistency and quality of the end-to-end fl ow assurance coating system, while enhancing operator safety and reducing the operational footprint in the fi eld.

Our fi eld joint coating equipment, materials and operators can be quickly mobilized to any onshore or offshore location. Bredero Shaw offers to global operators and contractors the widest range of thermal insulation fi eld joint coatings in the industry to complement our factory-applied coatings, including the high-performance Thermotite® IMPP and Thermotite® ULTRA™ fi eld joint systems previously discussed. ■

Figure 2 – Thermotite® ULTRA™ end-to-end

fl ow assurance coating system

Figure 3 – Brigden™ facility installed for

a fl ow assurance coating project

Head Offi ce and Americas: +1-281-886-2350Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia: +44-208-622-3071Asia Pacifi c: +65-6732-2355solutions@brederoshaw.comwww.brederoshaw.com

Quality mobile pipe coating – anywhere in the world

Anti-corrosion and fl ow assurance

Brigden™ is our innovative modular, mobile plant capable of applying our full range of anti-corrosion and fl ow assurance coatings.

Protection and weight

We can set up our mobile concrete coating plants close to your project, signifi cantly reducing logistics cost associated with heavy concrete coated pipe.

Field joints

Our fi eld joint coating solutions ensure the high consistency and quality that are critical to the long-term integrity of your pipeline system.

ShawCor – when you need to be sure

shawcor.combrederoshaw.com

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