TPi May 2016

products & developments

Showcase for South Africa oil and gas sector at Cape Industries Showcase

as South Africa accelerates its own offshore oil and gas exploration. In the past four years, almost all offshore exploration blocks are under licence or under application for exploration by independent companies.” The Cape Industries Showcase combines the Maritime & Offshore Marine Africa Expo, the Oil & Gas Africa Expo, the Cape Logistics Expo, the Temperature Controlled Storage and Distribution Expo and the Empowertec Cape SME Expo in one co-located event.

To obtain a quality purge it has been customary to fill pipes with expensive argon gas and keep the gas running at what is thought to be a suitable flow rate for an estimated period of time. In today’s climate of ever-improving quality control and increasing demands on procedures with traceability, it is inappropriate to use such methods to ensure a satisfactory purge. It is not desirable to simply pour gas into a pipe assembly in the hope that a good purge and, ultimately, a good weld will be achieved. This technique often does not work and is unnecessarily expensive. Luke Keane, distributor support for HFT, said, “It is so easy to cut a circle of water- soluble film and place it a short distance away from the root gap before welding, pasting in place with the Argweld Water- Soluble Super Adhesive™ to ensure a tough, leak-tight barrier, keeping the purging volume to the barest minimum.” Argweld Weld Purge Film may save operators costs by minimising gas usage and reducing the time taken to make a purge, while achieving a desirably low oxygen level. The Saldanha Bay Industrial Develop- ment Zone (SBIDZ) is the first major step in the government’s Operation Phakisa initiative to expand and develop South Africa’s ocean economy potential. This is South Africa’s first dedicated facility aimed at providing support services for upstream exploration and production (E&P) developments in South, West and East African coastal oil and gas fields. “Its main functions will focus on ship and rig repairs and maintenance, exploration, production and logistics support, and marine/sub-sea engineering and fabrication,” said OGAF organiser John Thomson. “The SBIDZ is creating a rapidly growing number of business opportunities for the broad marine and maritime sectors

When tubes and pipes of certain materials, such as stainless steel, titanium, copper-nickel and zirconium, are welded together it is desirable to purge the oxygen out of the inside of the weld zone to prevent it from reacting with the hot metal and causing oxidation, porosity, discolouration and loss of corrosion resistance. Products for purging the insides of pipes include inflatable tube and pipe purging systems, such as PurgElite ® , QuickPurge ® and HotPurge ® . However, it is not always practical to use such systems for one-off work on just a few joints of one particular size, for closing welds, for ‘T’ piece joints or for a number of other branch type joints. To overcome this difficulty, Huntingdon Fusion Techniques (HFT) provides Argweld ® Weld Purge Film™ kits, with water-soluble materials that can be used for open assemblies and closing welds. The film produces an impenetrable purge barrier that can easily be washed away when hydrostatically testing the pipe or just by flushing out. The South Africa government’s planned investment of R9.2bn to develop Saldanha Bay into a world-class hub for southern African offshore oil and gas drilling will create opportunities for companies operating in the sector. The Oil & Gas Africa (OGAF) 2016 expo forms a services showcase and business networking platform for this industry. OGAF is one of five exhibitions that comprise the Cape Industries Showcase (CIS), an industrial expo that attracts operators, stakeholders, suppliers and service providers exploring new opportunities. OGAF will take place at CIS from 13 to 15 July 2016 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Exhibition Management Services – South Africa

sales5@exhibitionsafrica.com www.exhibitionsafrica.com

Water-soluble film for steel and titanium pipe and tube purging

After welding, the water-soluble film is simply washed away during the standard hydrotest cycle or by simply flushing the pipe interior. The film is dissolved down to molecular level, leaving no trace. Huntingdon Fusion Techniques – UK hft@huntingdonfusion.com www.huntingdonfusion.com

HFT’s Argweld water-soluble film and adhesive

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May 2016 Tube Products International