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World’s most advanced project set to transform deepwater riser market ON THE COVER
World’s most advanced project set to transform deepwater riser market
STROHM HAS ANNOUNCED A GAME-CHANGING JOINT INDUSTRY PROGRAMME (JIP) WITH PETROBRAS AND SHELL FOR ITS THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE PIPE (TCP) FLOWLINE AND RISER TECHNOLOGY.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF STROHM.
The contract has the potental to revolutonise the deepwater fowline and riser market in Brazil and beyond with a corrosion-free soluton that has a 30-year design life. It is the world’s most advanced programme to bring TCP Flowline and Risers ofshore under actual feld conditons. The four-year award coincides with a large plant expansion which is well underway at Strohm’s premises in the Netherlands as part of its ongoing growth strategy. The JIP has also extended its footprint in Brazil, triggering a raf of local engineering appointments and a new Rio de Janeiro ofce.
Corrosion-resistant
The region’s prolifc pre-salt provinces have some of the most productve wells in the world. Typically, deepwater felds such as these are produced through dynamic risers connected to foatng producton storage and ofoading (FPSO) vessels. Recently, conventonal fexible fowline and risers have been reported to exhibit premature integrity issues due to corrosion, leading to regular replacement which is costly and leads to deferred producton. Strohm’s TCP Flowline and Riser is a disruptve new product that is corrosion-resistant with a three-decade design life. It has a superior fatgue performance and is light weight compared to steel resultng in a costefectve free-hanging catenary confguraton once installed.
Proven and available
TCP was introduced to the market by Strohm in 2010 and since then, the company has built the world’s largest track record for TCP Flowlines and Jumpers. The
The TCP Riser can be installed quickly by existing fex-lay or reel-lay vessels.
qualify our TCP Flowline and Riser and see the prototypes installed in deepwater by 2024. TCP has the potental to transform the global deepwater fowline and riser market and unlocks a huge potental for us in Brazil. The Brazilian pre-salt cluster currently has 20+ FPSOs in operaton and each one is supportng numerous risers, providing a huge opportunity for us in the replacement market. In additon, the country also invests approximately USD 1 billion in risers to support new FPSO operatons each year, and this is set to climb in line with its ambiton to become the world’s fourth largest oil producer by 2029. This JIP confrms that TCP is well positoned to be a game changer for the deepwater sector and for Strohm. We are on track to fulfl our vison of being the leading provider of non-corrosive solutons and supportng our strategy to provide products that deliver a signifcantly lower carbon footprint.”
Saving costs and environment
The TCP Riser is low in its carbon footprint as it is spoolable and prepared in long lengths, resultng in lower transportaton and installaton costs. The riser is installed using vessels currently available in the market, and as it does not require any buoyancy elements during installaton, costs are signifcantly reduced leading to an overall saving. As a consequence, CO2 emissions are greatly reduced. It is also 100% recyclable. Strohm’s Chief Technology Ofcer Henk de Boer explains, “We’ve worked closely with Petrobras and Shell to understand their requirements for installaton, subsea confguraton as well as fuids, pressures, and design life requirements. The result is a TCP Riser technology that is insensitve to CO2 and H2S, can be installed with existng vessels with modest modifcatons and support the freehanging catenary confguraton, negatng the need for buoyancy elements, a big cost driver in deepwater.”
Positive impact
As part of the programme, engineering actvites and pipe testng will be carried out in the Netherlands and Brazil, and full-scale prototypes will be manufactured and installed ofshore Brazil. Juliano Dantas, Chief of R&D of Petrobras, states, “We believe that this JIP built in collaboraton with Strohm is well suited to successfully bring the TCP Riser technology to the feld. This JIP fts in our strategy of deployment driven development. It is our aim to be able to ofer the TCP Riser as a soluton to our projects within Petrobras as quickly as possible.” Olivier Wambersie, designated General Manager Brazil Technology at Shell, adds, “We have been working closely with Strohm for many years. We are really keen to see this programme leading to the world’s frst applicaton of TCP Flowline and Riser for deepwater pre-salt conditons. Not only will it address the asset integrity challenges it will also bring a positve impact on the carbon intensity of our operatons. My team and I are looking forward to be working with all partes involved.”
i. strohm.eu
TCP Flowline and Riser JIP builds on earlier work performed in Brazil and commenced in August when the Strohm started to develop, qualify and test its composite pipe technology with the two operators to make it fully feld proven and commercially available to the oil & gas industry. The programme will manufacture and pilot the installaton of two TCP systems, one for TCP Flowlines and the second for TCP Risers. This will result in the industry’s frst programme to mature the TCP Riser to TRL-6 (API 17N), proving it is an enabling technology and ready for deployment.
Game changer
Oliver Kassam, CEO of Strohm, says, “This is a very signifcant and excitng moment as we join forces with Petrobras and Shell to
