Resins
RTP Niches Into Low-Pressure Applications
Wellstream (a Halliburton business unit) supplies lightweight reinforced thermoplastic pipe, or RTP, which is designed for applications intermediate between those that can use low-pressure, unreinforced thermoplastic pipe or hose, and those that require high-pressure unbonded flexible pipe. Used mainly in onsh
Read MoreInterplay Of Materials And Use Conditions Key To Design
A wide variety of thermoplastic resins is used for the inner fluid/pressure barrier layer, which contains the conveyed material and eliminates any possibility of weeping through the fiber composite. The most common are families of polyolefins (e.g., polyethylenes), polyphenylene sulfides (PPS), nylons (polyami
Read MoreDownhole Composites Boost Durability, Drillability
Halliburton Energy Services, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Weatherford International, and Baker Oil Tools, all based in Houston, Texas (U.S.A.), offer composite downhole tools — made with both thermoplastics and thermoset resins — for a variety of applications. Halliburton’s FasDrill packers and plugs
Read MoreFiberglass Ideal For Dry Deluge System Applications
Around 1982, offshore platforms began using dry deluge systems, where the ring main is kept full of seawater but the downstream piping is dry. The dry piping is separated from the ring main by deluge valves, which automatically open and distribute water through the dry pipe to spray nozzles during a fire. This
Read MoreProven Performance In A Chemical Line Installation
EDO Specialty Plastics (Baton Rouge, La., U.S.A.) filament winds composite pipe and fittings for offshore facilities platforms and rigs. Founded in 1973 as Specialty Plastics and acquired by EDO in 1998, the company manufactures industrial fiberglass piping systems for the chemical, petrochemical and pulp and
Read MoreRiser Arch Trays, Mud Mats Provide Multiple Benefits
In 1999, 42 composite riser arch trays were supplied by DML Composites (Plymouth, U.K.) to Halliburton Subsea for the Norsk Hydro Troll C field riser support system, in 1,100 ft/340m of water. The trays, which sit atop two 260 ft/80m tall steel jacket riser support structures, cradle the flexible risers that c
Read MoreOther Types Of Repairs Possible With Composites
Since 1995, DML Composites (Plymouth, U.K.) has been one of the pioneers in the use of customized wet layup repairs for offshore pipework and other platform component repairs. A project completed by DML in 2000 involved the in-service repair of a steel caisson on a platform in the North Sea. A caisson is a lar
Read MoreSemisubmersibles Lighten The Load
Transocean Sedco Forex (Houston, Texas, U.S.A.) is working on a new design for its ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig, the Sedco Express. A major offshore contractor specializing in deepwater drilling, Transocean has 166 MODUs and inland drilling barges in operation around the world. Semisubmersibles are mobi
Read MoreComposite Accumulator Bottles Perform In Service
A riser tensioning system for a TLP consists of a tensioning ring and framework, with four to eight hydraulic cylinders — each with an attached pressure vessel or “accumulator bottle” — to support and allow movement of the rigid riser pipe. Installed in the riser wellbay, this primary structural system is desi
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