The use of mechanically lined pipe (MLP) for both flowlines and risers installed by reel-lay is well established, giving significant cost and schedule benefits relative to conventional metallurgically clad pipe. Successful offshore installation of MLP is underpinned by comprehensive qualification testing. Evolving MLP products, including the use of thin liners and adhesively bonded MLP, i.e. GluBi®, continue to improve the competitiveness of this linepipe product. The paper will highlight the key steps for qualification, including new products, the lessons learnt captured during fabrication and installation as well as the benefit of a local spool base for the Asia Pacific region. Subsea 7 has worked in close collaboration with leading supplier Butting to perform the qualification of MLP. The latter, initially, comprises extensive non-destructive and destructive testing of the linepipe materials including the liner/ weld overlay interface. Subsequently reeling test strings are fabricated using qualified welding solutions. Internal visual inspection and dimensional measurements are carried out using laser metrology to provide a benchmark for comparison post reeling. The test strings are given a simulated reeling procedure using bending and straightening formers, representative of Subsea 7's installation vessels. The internal pressurisation technique, as per standard installation practice for MLP, is applied during the simulated reeling procedure. The need for internal pressurisation is eliminated in the case of adhesively bonded MLP. Post reeling the internal laser metrology inspection procedure is repeated to confirm the integrity of the liner and to check for the presence of any evidence of liner wrinkling or damage. Subsequently, for riser applications, full-scale fatigue testing is performed using the high- frequency resonance bending procedure with a focus on the integrity of the junction between liner and weld overlay or, as commonly termed, the triple point. Additionally, finite element analysis (FEA) is often performed to further validate the satisfactory reeling performance of the MLP. All the qualification activities are carried out and verified in alignment with DNV-RP-A203 Technology Qualification (Ref.1) To date Subsea 7 has installed several hundreds of kilometers of MLP flowlines and risers, with pipe NPS in the range 7" to 14" and including 316L, Alloy 825 and Alloy 625 liners. This thorough qualification process and experience combined with the successful set up of a regional spool base provides a robust and cost-effective alternative to the conventional metallurgically clad pipe.
Deterioration of carbon steel water injection subsea pipelines caused by internal corrosion is a common problem in oil fields around the world. Addressing this issue requires costly and complex water management solutions or could lead to reduced performance and total replacement of corroded pipelines. This paper shall present the Polymer Lined Pipe (PLP) technology, a field proven solution to the water injection corrosion challenges, extensively used in the North Sea. A description of the key building blocks and the recent technology qualifications shall highlight the latest product development. Eventually, the main fabrication and installation steps shall be presented in view of a regional PLP application. A regional business case comparing the three water injection corrosion approaches shall highlight the typical economic metrics that could be achieved thanks to the use of PLP technology. Today, this technology is accessible to operators in the Asia Pacific region with the recent opening of the Bintan Spoolbase in Indonesia enabling the deployment polymer lined water injection pipelines using the reel-lay method of installation. The strategic location of the spoolbase eliminates the significant intercontinental transit costs and the reel-lay method reduces offshore vessel days normally associated with conventional pipe-lay methods (S-lay and J-lay).
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