Marine Technology Reporter Blogs - pipe

The development of pipes that can withstand high pressure, heat and corrosion in deepwater locations such as offshore Brazil and the GoM and WA is continuous. For many years steel piping dominated the O&G industry but with pre-salt projects beyond 2,000 meters deep and corrosive enhanced oil recovery techniques widely being used in the industry, pipeline manufacturers have been looking for more flexible and robust materials. France's Technip, which is a world leader in pipe manufacture, uses layered steel with a stainless steel or plastic lining for main offshore pipes. However, British engineering company Magma Global and Dutch company Airborne are pioneering composite pipes made from a fusion of high-end fibers and plastics which are up to 90% lighter than steel pipes and do not corrode.

AS Connector was founded in Bergen, Norway in 2000 to provided dedicated services and equipment for deepwater pipeline inspection. In the last 13 years the company has built up a proven track record in pipeline IMR, through the use of innovative technology solutions. It has been doing extensive pipeline work with Petrobras in Brazil since 2002, including comprehensive deepwater pipeline repair systems, installation, supply of deepwater rider protection, correction of pipeline freespans, using in-house developed tools and equipment. One of their innovative equipment is a remote riser cleaning and inspection tool, the Riser Sovereign. This equipment was custom developed for Petrobras to clean and verify flex pipe integrity. The tool is self-propelled and operated similarly to a ROV.

As deepwater O&G discoveries abound up and down the coast in Brazil and as the early pre-salt discoveries begin to produce, along with other post-salt deepwater discoveries. All three main Basins; Campos, Santos and Espirito Santo are seeing a marked increase in pipe laying by all super major players involved in the development of deepwater plays in Brazil. There has also been an increase in custom deepwater pipe and flowline manufacturing and in the acquisition and leasing of pipelaying vessels for the Brazilian oil frontier. The newest order announced is for the supply of electrical power systems and energy efficient propulsion systems for two deepwater pipe laying vessels with the total order value being $18 million. Daewoo chose ABB to supply these systems.

Investing in subsea pipeline technology development, PROTUBO has been producing interesting pipe bending solutions.Pipes are one of the most costly equipments in subsea systems. Here in Brazil subsea pipelines can range from tens, to hundreds of kilometers. Usually subsea pipelines include bended sections and more recently ( T ) pieces are installed in them to facilitate intervention, specially in deep water sections, where intervention costs are huge and new rigless intervention techniques are being introduced. In deep water pipelines, pipe in pipe technology is being extensively used and upgraded in order to optimize surveillance capabilities, where real time fiber optic surveillance technology appears to be the way to go.

VAM Drilling is a company belonging to the French drilling pipe manufacturer Valourec. The new VAM Drilling mill will be located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, adjacent to already existing Valourec & Mannesmann (V&M do Brasil) steel production and pipe rolling plant. With this the company expects to be able to respond more rapidly and efficiently to its customers in South America, lowering logistics costs and reducing the production time. Accortding to Hector Arevalo VP of South American sales for V&M do Brasil “Because of the local steel production and pipe rolling capabilities of V&M do Brasil, the new mill will be able to provide full capabilities.

Like I recently stated, bad thing happen real fast, in this case no one even knows exactly why things happened but no real harm was done since the Dynamic Produce FPSO, belonging to Brazilian contractor Petroserv, was down for maintenance since last Sunday, with the well being plugged and the pipes purged of O&G. Therefore, when the a pipe section connecting the FPSO to the well ruptured (it´s still not clear at what depth the rupture occurred or even how many ruptures there were), there was nothing in them to spill out, avoiding what would have been the first serious pre-salt production accident resulting in a oil spill. It is also…

With headquarters in the UK, Wellstream has invested heavily in the Brazilian O&G market since 2007 and currently has an ongoing contract with Petrobras for around 700km of flexible pipes. They are the acknowledged leaders in flexible riser manufacture in Brazil.Wellstream is a world leader in design and manufacture of flexible pipeline products, systems and solutions for fluid transportation in the O&G industry. The business, founded in 1983 is headquartered in Newcastle, UK, with manufacturing facilities in the UK, Brazil and USA. The company has over 1,000 employees worldwide and also has sales and project offices in Canada and Australia. Flexible pipe products are used in many offshore field developments, but particularly where floating production vessels are involved.

Prysmian announces investmens of around $115 million to start flexible pipe production in its Vila Velha, Espírito Santo industrial plant.Prysmian Cabos e Sistemas do Brasil S. A., announced in november a $115 million investment for 2010, for the expansion of its industrial plant in Espirito Santo in order to produce flexible pipes along with umbilicals already produced at the plant. The event, had the presence of Prysmians’ Worldwide President, Valerio Battista, Prysmians’ South American President, Armando Comparato Jr., Petrobras management representatives and The Italian Minister of Economic Development, Claudio Scajola. “Petrobras and Prysmian have signed a technological cooperation agreenment in order to develop flexible pipes for Petrobras.

After tests the diverless hot tap proved to be interesting for deep water and shallow water operations.During early August 2009 the world’s first diverless hot tap operation on a pressurised pipeline was performed by Statoil on the Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea. This was the catalyst for the development of the world’s only remote hot tapping machine. “Connecting a pipe to an existing deepwater line would historically mean shutting down and draining the pipeline, cutting into it, adding a special tee spoolpiece and welding it or securing it in place, ensuring the seal is leak-tight. All the water in the pipe would then have to be displaced before the line could come back onstream.