Oil and gas operations pipe is durable and efficient

Following an extensive and challenging testing program, the product qualification covers m-pipe for dynamic surface to seabed applications. Successful certification with DNV GL’s third-party verification highlights the durability of m-pipe and its constituent materials.

There is a growing interest in thermoplastic composites for subsea applications, due to their corrosion resistance and ability to handle sour service and many of the aggressive chemicals used in the oil and gas industry. An upcoming webinar will drill into the qualification and use of advanced materials role in this. Recent deployments for m-pipe include a 2.5km (1.6mile) flowline development by Tullow Oil in West Africa.

"F119 is the most comprehensive procedure that exists today for determining the long-term reliability and safety of a TCP for O&G," explained Dr David Charlesworth, Head of Engineering at Magma Global.

In the webinar on Tuesday 13th February 2018, he will detail how m-pipe achieved the qualification and also cover the importance of the TCP in the O&G sector, its minimum bend radius (MBR), and how the design of m-pipe aids transport, deployment and connections in subsea applications. Dr Geoff Small, Energy Market Technology Manager at Victrex, will focus on the advanced materials used in the making of m-pipe, the various testing carried out and the advantages in both performance and qualification which these materials bring.

F119: A partnership in process
"Victrex and Magma have always worked side-by-side on m-pipe, with Victrex contributing its decades of accumulated know-how, and that's the way we rose to the F119 challenge," said Dr Small. "Magma's m-pipe is not simply an innovative high-performance corrosion-free pipe that the O&G industry urgently needs, but it's now emerged as the first F119-certified TCP, and that means it's a proven solution in subsea pipelines."

Magma m-pipe is a high-performance carbon fibre and VICTREX PEEK thermoplastic composite pipe manufactured using a fully automated robotic 3D laser print process. Engineering and detailed structural design result in a high specification pipe that has been shown to reduce risks and costs for risers, jumpers, flowlines and downlines in a wide range of subsea project applications.

These outstanding properties make m-pipe, which can be used at depths down to 3.4m (10,000ft) and withstand pressures of up to 103MPa (15ksi), a leading solution in subsea pipelines and a cost-effective alternative to traditional steel and non-bonded flexible pipe.

F119 comprises more than 50 standardised test methods, which together subject a TCP to a rigorous investigation, throughout the design process, to ascertain failure modes, critical properties and the limits of its constituent materials. Each stage of the formation of the TCP is tested independently, from the properties of its components to full TCP construction, to ascertain the link between materials data and overall TCP design.

Victrex helped facilitate the materials testing, to accelerate the qualification of m-pipe, by contributing the following:

• Use of its extensive property database specifically targeting O&G applications and covering a wide range of mechanical, physical and chemical resistance properties.
• Design and evaluation of novel test methods to demonstrate the compliance of VICTREX PEEK with the material qualification sections of the DNVGL document.
• Materials testing both within Victrex’s own laboratories and a number of outside accredited test labs.

The use of m-pipe can reduce both risks and costs for offshore operators. It requires minimum maintenance and, since it is not subject to corrosion, has a longer lifetime than steel. Dr Charlesworth concluded: “Offshore O&G operations are now encountering extremely difficult subsea environments at greater depths. The pressure is relentless and old-style steel isn't up to the job. An outstanding composite pipe, such as m-pipe, is what's needed, delivering the strength of steel but not the inevitable corrosion."