Airborne Oil & Gas has notched up a world-first with a deal to supply a thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP) flowline for a pilot project off Malaysia.
The scope, which comes after the successful completion of a three-year qualification programme, includes the delivery of a 550-m TCP flowline, ancillaries, offshore installation, engineering and field support.
The 6-in. flowline is to be installed in 30 m of water and will connect two platforms located on the West Lutong Field offshore Malaysia.
Airborne’s Business Development Manager Bart Steuten told SEN, “This is not the first pipe we have supplied to the oil and gas industry, but it is the first application ever of TCP for a flowline. A particular benefit is that the materials we use do not corrode and in the area we are installing in the South China Sea there is a lot of corrosion. We are now doing the first pilot project resulting from the qualification work.
“We will install a pipeline to connect a satellite wellhead platform on the field with the central processing platform. It is replacing a steel pipeline.”
Steuten said installation had been planned for this year, but was not now likely to begin until early next year because of a delay in awarding the installation contract and the upcoming monsoon season.
He said the noncorrosive nature of the TCP flowline means that there is no risk of pollution. “It also reduces cost in managing integrity. The in-service benefit is that you do not have to use corrosion inhibitors and there are less inspections needed.
“Installation costs are also lower because we have a spoolable pipe, which comes on a reel. Installation can be achieved with a much cheaper installation spread compared to steel pipe, which requires an expensive pipelay vessel.”
He said the simple installation method for the TCP flowline reduced installation costs “dramatically.”
Steuten added, “After having done years of qualification testing in laboratories, we now go out for the first time to actually install the pipe and will get the operational feedback from it. We will also be able demonstrate that the installation can be achieved in the way that we foresee it. It is about proving the business case and that the installation cost is cheaper than installing a steel pipeline.”
As well as Petronas, Airborne also is working with Shell, which became a shareholder in the company last year, Chevron, OneSubsea and Saipem.
“We are working on a Shell project for delivery of a downline system for well intervention in Nigeria. We recently delivered a downline system for IKM Testing that will be used on the Aasta Hansteen (32/6) Field by Subsea 7 for Statoil.”
The TCP downline will be used for the precommissioning of risers and pipelines.
Airborne also is delivering well intervention jumpers to OneSubsea and jumpers to Chevron for a North Sea project.
Martin van Onna, Airborne’s chief commercial officer, added, “With this project, we now have commercial deliveries on all our thermoplastic composite pipe products: downlines and dynamic jumpers for well intervention, static jumpers and spools for injection, and flowlines for hydrocarbon service.
“The potential for flowlines in particular is very large; we manufacture up to 7-in. ID [inside diameter] TCP flowlines, replacing 8-in. nominal steel pipe as well as conventional flexible pipe. We manufacture these in lengths up to 3,000 m per spool, allowing fast installation by reel lay method, reducing installation cost significantly and with that the total project cost.”
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