CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/546021
AUGUST 2015 50 CompositesWorld INSIDE MANUFACTURING Corrosion-resistant aramid fiber/thermoplastic liner gives new life to deteriorating steel subsea pipelines. ยป Te recent 101,000-gal oil spill of the California coast in the US ofered grim testimony to the potential fnancial and environ- mental cost of corroded subsea pipelines. According to Te New York Times, the cleanup of oil on beaches there had cost US$69 million, as of June 11, 2015, and costs were likely to climb. Tis and other articles about that incident pointed to pipe corrosion as the probable cause of the spill. Global oil and gas interests operate more than 175,000 km of subsea carbon steel pipelines at varying depths around the world. Tese pipelines transport crude oil, gas and related products between ofshore platforms and from ofshore platforms to onshore facilities. Counter-intuitively, one of the greatest threats to these undersea delivery systems is not saltwater, the external corro- sive agent, but an unwelcome bacterial stowaway in crude oil that "breathes" the sulphates in crude and leaves behind highly corrosive hydrogen sulfde: "Due in large part to sulfate-reducing bacteria [SRB] accelerating internal corrosion, these pipelines can have a relatively short lifecycle," says Robert Walters, global project director for Anticorrosion Protective Systems (APS, Dubai, UAE). Together with PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), APS has developed in response an innova- tive composite liner system that places a corrosion-resistant barrier between an aggressive service medium, such as SRB, and the steel. Known as the InField Liner, or IFL, the liner also ofers a secondary containment capability in the event of a rupture or damage to the outer steel pipeline and promises to dramatically extend the service life of the pipes, which Walters says have histor- ically needed replacement in as few as four years. A team efort Since 1978, APS has provided engineering, application and instal- lation of specialized protective systems to the oil, gas, power and utility sectors in the Middle East and Asia through its Pipeline Rehabilitation and Specialized Coatings & Linings divisions. PETRONAS has expanded since its inception in 1974 as Malaysia's custodian of its national oil and gas resources, to become a fully integrated international conglomerate listed on Fortune's Global By Donna Dawson / Senior Writer Emeritus Rehabilitation for subsea pipelines Anticorrosion Protective Systems' (APS, Dubai, UAE) frst InField Liner (IFL) was installed by APS during the summer of 2013 in a 203-mm (8-inch) diameter, 1.5-km-long crude oil pipeline between two ofshore platforms in PETRONAS' Samarang oil feld in the South China Sea, located ofshore from Sabah, East Malaysia. Source (all photos) | APS Composites extend service of corrosion-prone oil and gas pipelines