2 minute read
New fexible pipe soluton
New fexible pipe solution
BAKER HUGHES HAS REACHED A SIGNIFICANT TECHNOLOGY MILESTONE IN PIONEERING A SOLUTION TO OVERCOME FLEXIBLE PIPE STRESS CORROSION CRACKING (SCC) TENDENCIES IN HIGH CO2 CONTENT FIELDS, SUCH AS THOSE FOUND IN BRAZIL’S PRE-SALT OFFSHORE DEVELOPMENTS.
The inspecton, verifcaton and assurance body, Lloyd’s Register, issued Baker Hughes a design appraisal document (DAD) certfcaton, validatng the company’s fexible pipe testng program and results. This follows an extensive three-year testng campaign by Baker Hughes – featuring more than 120 test setups, methodologies, and characterisatons, including dissecton of pipes recovered from feld operatons – and marks a step towards a viable fexible pipe soluton for the most demanding high CO2 ofshore felds. The certfcaton verifes that on top of the standard 25-30-year equipment service life, Baker Hughes can extend fexible pipes contracted service life by at least 50%, with the potental of 2.5x life extension.
As an energy industry, we must constantly share lessons learned to ensure safe, reliable and environmentally sound operations.
Important step
In 2017, the Brazil Natonal Petroleum Agency issued a failure mode alert when it frst identfed fexible pipes used in highpressure, high-CO2 content felds caused broken tensile armor wires on a fexible pipe installaton with potental environmental impacts and producton losses. The DAD ofers a path forward for the growth of fexible pipes to meet the safety and regulatory requirements in the oil and gas industry. “As an energy industry, we must constantly share lessons learned to ensure safe, reliable and environmentally sound operatons. Baker Hughes applied its technology expertse to pioneer a soluton to solve this challenge”, says Domenico Di Giambatsta, Vice President for fexible pipe systems at Baker Hughes. “While the SCC-CO2 phenomenon was not something we experienced with our fexible pipes, it threatened the viability of certain ofshore felds that require fexible pipe for development. This certfcaton is an important step as we invest for growth to fully deploy fexible pipe systems in tough ofshore environments.”
Photo courtesy of Baker Hughes.
The DAD confrms that the combination of advanced materials and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes produces a fexible pipe that can withstand the most severe operating conditions while still retaining advantages including fexibility in feld layout, simplifed FPSO balcony confguration, and reduced time to frst oil.
Most severe conditions
The DAD confrms that the combinaton of advanced materials and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes produces a fexible pipe that can withstand the most severe operatng conditons while stll retaining advantages including fexibility in feld layout, simplifed FPSO balcony confguraton, and reduced tme to frst oil. Moving forward, all installed fexible pipes by Baker Hughes in Brazil will be covered by the DAD and ofer operators extended operatng life before replacement. In additon, the DAD enables Baker Hughes to assess and predict the integrity of fexible pipes operatng for several years.
