Wyandotte, Michigan - A recent deepwater offshore oil project in the Gulf of Mexico has used glass syntactic polyurethane (GSPU) to help the pipeline perform well at depths of up to 9627 feet (2934 m) - making it the deepest subsea insulated flowline installed to date, according to a BASF press statement.
BASF supplied its Elastoshore polyurethane technology to Perma-Pipe Oil and Gas, who installed the pipeline for a contract with The Bayou Cos. The project is part of the Perdido Development, operated by Shell.
Perma-Pipe applied its Auto-Therm GSPU "wet" insulation onto fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) coated pipe to more than 15 miles of insulated flowline pipe.
BASF claims that its polyurethane material gives a coating with excellent temperature and hydrolysis resistance with very low water absorption. "BASF supplies 100 percent mercury-free formulations for GSPU technology worldwide," said Dr Karl Gust, BASF technical market manager, in the company statement, commenting that this aids the environment and helps sustainability in the offshore market.
According to BASF, this new project means its Elastoshore PU material has now been used in more than 100 miles of flowline insulation in the Gulf of Mexico. The material is sourced in North America, keeping logistics costs low, and BASF's Polyurethane Specialties division was able to work closely with Perma-Pipe to develop customised products for their process.
As Hank Reuser, vice president of sales and marketing for Bayou Flow Technologies/Perma-Pipe Oil and Gas pointed out, "Flowline coating jobs of this magnitude require a strong supply chain from the chemical manufacturer," and he said BASF was able to offer good technical support and meet a demanding delivery schedule.
And BASF was also able to offer customised products so that Perma-Pipe could insulate pipe of various lengths and diameters with minimal process adjustments. Perma-Pipe can insulate pipe to double-jointed 80 ft lengths rather than the conventional 40 ft lengths, which can cut costs on field-joint applications, the statement concluded.
PIC: Barge loaded with 80-ft sections of insulated flowline for delivery to the Gulf of Mexico.
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