Diverless Splash Zone Protection for Platform Conductors

Overview

An offshore oil platform located off Western Australia had been installed with uncoated conductors. The lack of protective coating resulted in significant corrosion damage that was only expected to get worse over time.

The problem of coating the conductors was more challenging than most as the area of concern lay in the splash zone, rendering many traditional protection options very difficult to implement, both from a surface preparation and a coating standpoint.

The client was seeking a durable and long term solution for the splash zone that could remove the large cost associated with divers, dive spreads and dive support vessels and the safety risk of divers in the splash zone.

Scope

The project had the following specifications:

Structure Steel conductors
Application Type Diverless FRP protection
Operating Environment Splash Zone
Quantity 5 conductors
Dimension 500mm
Design Temperature 65oC
Design Life 20 years
Surface Preparation WJ1
Weight of Repair 30kg per half shell
Corrosion Type External

Solution

  • Remotely operated tool (ROT) using ultra-high pressure (UHP) water jetting for surface preparation above and below the water over a 6m section, installed with rope access
  • A SitejacketTM solution was designed and manufactured to meet Australian standards for wave loading, with an engineered bonding system designed for optimal performance in the splash zone
  • Rope access installation of SitejacketTM through the splash zone (3m below and above mean sea level) to provide corrosion protection

Benefits

  • Improved cost effectiveness and safety - ROT surface preparation and rope access SitejacketTM installation removed the requirement for divers, dive support vessels and dive spreads
  • Quality - ROT allowed for superior surface preparation quality, and bonding of SitejacketTM to the structure, and was not weather dependent, capable of operating in rough sea states
  • Durability in the splash zone - SitejacketTM provided superior, long term, life extension and corrosion protection to the asset

iasgroup services

A leader in developing and delivering innovative solutions for assets in the oil & gas, mining, public infrastructure and industrial sectors. We create value for our clients through improved safety, life extension, cost effectiveness, all whilst mitigating the need for production downtime.