Pipeline Coating
S13 ORME 5 2012 Technical Focus 01_Layout 1 13/08/2012 16:56 Page 62
Virtually all the new steel pipelines built today in the world are protected by external coatings that have various functional roles. The traditional model of a fixed specialized coating facility located in each steel pipe mill or close to it is increasingly challenged nowadays by innovative mobile pipeline coating technologies. Vlad Popovici of ShawCor, Toronto and Simon Dewey of Bredero Shaw, Abu Dhabi explain.
Bredero Shaw’s new BrigdenTM modular facility
Mobile pipeline coating technologies challenge
traditional methods M
OST OF THE world’s transmission pipelines are still built using steel pipe. As noted in one of the industry’s most comprehensive pipeline construction best practice handbooks, pipeline integrity for more than the nominal 2535 years of service is an important aspect in any pipeline’s design, construction and operation. Pipelines should not fail during their service life because such failures could lead to human and economic costs. As the public’s perception of pipeline failures is (generally) much worse than the actual human and economic failure costs, a lot of resources have been dedicated to protect the pipes against any potential causes that could lead to pipeline failure [1]. The pipeline industry has therefore developed various types of external coatings with one or multiple functional roles – anti-corrosion protection, mechanical protection, thermal insulation, buoyancy control. Manual coating of pipelines is usually slow, labor intensive, more prone to application defects and delivering an inconsistent level of quality. Therefore, most of the pipeline coatings for new pipelines are currently applied in specialized facilities, with industrial automated
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coating processes that allow mass production, are less intensive in labor, and offer guaranteed quality. In this traditional setup, specialized permanent facilities are applying the coatings to the bare steel pipes and are either integrated to the steel pipe mills or located close to the steel pipe mills to and operated by independent coating companies. The permanent/fixed coating facility model is challenged today by innovative mobile pipeline coating technologies, developed by leading coating companies such as Bredero Shaw.
Global business Oil and gas fields are discovered ever farther from the main markets and thus pipelines have to be built in regions that are far from the pipe mills and/or coating plants. On the other hand, the oil and gas and the energy services industries are now global businesses, so pipe can be sent from one location to be installed on the other side of the world. These industry trends are encouraging the portable coating plant approach by creating incentives for the pipeline operators, such as reduced project costs, reduced construction time, simplified logistics and
streamlined project management. Bredero Shaw’s newly completely modular mobile plant is capable of manufacturing both anti-corrosion and flow assurance pipe coating solutions with the same quality and output as fixed plants. The plant’s innovative system design include pipe pre-heating and automatic end finishing using advanced robotics. This mobile facility enables delivery of high quality pipe coating anywhere in the world. BrigdenTM is a turnkey operating facility assembled from contents supplied in standard and specifically-designed shipping containers that are ISO certified. Adding more modules to the baseline layout expands the plant capability to accommodate large diameter pipe. New modules are added to accommodate various flow assurance and anti-corrosion pipe coating technologies, robotic cutback, different extruder requirements and production of novel, proprietary coatings. Plants can also be adapted to regional and client specific needs such as small diameter pipe, internal coatings and large manufacturing volumes. Electrical power can be provided from utility grid sources, or site generated as necessary by project requirements. Even the absence of an