TPi May 2015

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business & market news
10 Tube ProducTs InTernaTIonal May 2015
Performance of polymer lined pipes
in sour hydrocarbon service
A joint industry project (JIP) has been
launched between Swagelining Ltd,
Saudi Aramco and The Welding Institute
(TWI) to conduct investigations into the
use of polymer lining in carbon steel
pipelines. The project will examine
the extent of corrosion incurred in a
polymer-lined pipeline when subjected
to a sour hydrocarbon fluid environment.
Between the three parties, a total of
£330,000 has been invested into the
project, which commenced in October
2014 and is expected to last 30 months.
Dr Steve Brogden, technical engineering
manager at Swagelining Ltd, said, “We
are delighted to be working closely
with Saudi Aramco and TWI on this
JIP. When compared with corrosion
resistant alloys, polymer lining systems
are attracting growing interest within
the pipeline industry. This comes as a
result of significant cost advantages,
increased corrosion prevention and
reduced fabrication and installation
time. All three parties felt that it was
time to build upon this interest and
demonstrate concrete evidence of how
polymer lining can perform under a
range of conditions.”
The project is divided into two parts.
Part A, sponsored by Swagelining and
Saudi Aramco, will use applied testing
on lined pipe sections to determine the
corrosion rate during simulated service
conditions for 180 days. This section of
the JIP will also look at the occurrence
of liner collapse during multiple pressure
cycles, and how this can be prevented
by implementing an internally vented
system, which will be represented by
Swagelining’s LinerVent™.
Part B is funded by TWI and will look to
gain an understanding of the transport
processes through the partially confined
polymeric layer. TWI’s diverse expertise
means that it is able to deal with all of
the material components of the project.
The JIP has plans for further growth,
achieved through sponsorship and
involvement from other organisations,
which will allow additional, more
extensive testing of higher temperature
polymeric and composite liners.
Dr Brogden added, “We hope to attract
input from further parties which can
add value to this JIP, particularly in the
latter stages as we look to perform
tests under strenuous conditions. As the
offshore oil and gas industry continues
to move into more hazardous and
extreme environments, it is critical that
we demonstrate how polymer lining
systems can continue to be used.”
Paul Woollin, director of research
at TWI, said, “There is appreciable
interest in the use of polymer-lined
pipe for affordable corrosion-resistant
hydrocarbon production. Currently,
there is a lack of supporting integrity
data, in particular for sour fluids, to
provide sufficient confidence for
widespread use. TWI’s JIP specifically
aims to address the primary issues
from an industry perspective, namely
the enduring concern of ‘liner collapse’
and risk of corrosion of the carbon
steel pipe. Supporting work in the
TWI Core Research Programme aims
to underpin the JIP by providing a
fundamental understanding of both
the time-dependent alteration in the
polymer layer and processes occurring
at the polymer-carbon steel interface.”
swagelining ltd – UK
Castle Metals in ten-year extension
agreement with Stelia Aerospace
Castle Metals France, a global
distributor of metal and plastic products,
processing services and supply chain
solutions, has announced that it has
signed a ten-year agreement with Stelia
Aerospace.
The current contract dates back to
1998 with Airbus, and was subsequently
renegotiated when Aerolia was created
in 2009, before coming into force in
2011. The programme covers Stelia’s
aerospace tubing products in a wide
range of alloys including nickel, titanium,
aluminium and stainless steel.
In addition to value-added processing,
the Castle contract also includes
collaborative planning of mill inbound
and customer on-hand inventory, JIT
delivery (multiple deliveries per day
direct to production lines as Castle has
quality delegation), and AOG (aircraft on
ground) support. The contract extension
is estimated to exceed $300mn over the
ten-year term.
Castle Metals will service the contract
from its service centre in Nantes,
France. Castle’s regional commercial
manager for the European region,
Asier Gonzalez, commented, “This
long-term agreement reinforces the
strong partnership between both of
our companies and our commitment
to support each other en route to
new standards of excellence in the
aerospace industry.”
A spokesperson from Stelia said, “Since
the implementation of the contract
in 2011, Castle has always been a
reliable and flexible partner, successfully
accompanying Aerolia and today Stelia
in its growth. We wanted this ten-year
contract extension to provide visibility
and to reinforce our strong partnership,
which is particularly important
considering the challenging context of
our company’s growth and ambitions.”
castle Metals ltd – UK