March 2013 Tube Products International
9
business & market news
Specialised welding and fabrication
Arc Energy Resources has completed
a contract to carry out specialised
welding and fabrication services on a
pig launcher and retrieval system (PLR)
destined for a time-critical application in
the Cascade Chinook oilfield in the Gulf
of Mexico, where operator Petrobras is
laying an additional subsea pipeline to
increase production.
The contract, for the subsea division
of Vector Technology Group, involved
Arc Energy welding a soft landing arm
system to the PLR as well as fabricating
a structural split flange support to enable
the hub of a Vector OPTIMA subsea
connector to be attached to pipeline
end terminations (PLETs). In addition,
Arc Energy fabricated and welded a
number of specialised components to
produce lifting brackets and control
panels that needed to meet similarly
demanding welding procedures for the
Vector specification.
All components were fabricated to high
standards and close tolerances by Arc
Energy in accordance with American
structural welding codes AWS D1.1 and
ASME VIII.
Output from the Cascade Chinook field
has a high hydrogen sulphide content,
which necessitates the use of very tight
welding parameters in order to adhere to
the demands of NACE. As a result of the
long pipe lengths, the internal surfaces
of the pipe quickly become coated with
hard scale and wax deposits, reducing
production by restricting the delivery of
oil ashore.
‘Pigs’ are introduced into the pipeline
using specially designed launching and
receiving vessels to clear debris, and
to batch and clear residual product.
Frequent pigging is required to ensure
that production is optimised.
Vector’s subsea division, which was
awarded the contract for the 15,000psi
rated pig launcher by Technip Group,
completed the design for the Cascade
Chinook field and, as part of the
development programme, sent a team
of engineers to Arc Energy’s facility to
discuss the critical welding elements
of the project and carry out a design
review for manufacture.
Arc Energy’s welding engineers, led by
managing director Alan Robinson, who
has a Master’s degree in welding and is
one of a small number of UK registered
International Welding Engineers, helped
the Vector team develop its drawings
to a ‘designed for manufacture’ stage.
The two companies then worked on
a joint-venture basis to produce the
fabrications that connect to the Vector
PLR, which is 3.5m tall, 2m wide and
weighs approximately 5 tonnes.
Arc Energy Resources is a specialist in
weld overlay cladding and fabrication for
the oil and gas industry. The company’s
expertise provides protection against
corrosion and wear for a variety of
process and pipeline equipment for
use in hostile environments. Arc Energy
also offers in-house test weld, heat
treatment, PMI and NDT facilities.
Industry certifications include ISO
9001:2008 quality management, ISO
3834-2 fusion welding of metallic
materials, and the internationally
renowned ASME U and R Stamps, as
well as ISO 14001:2004 environment
management, Investors in People and
OHSAS 18001:2007 Health & Safety
management system.
Arc Energy Resources
– UK
The Petrobras pig launcher and retrieval
system
Tube Hollows relocates headquarters
Tube Hollows International has relocated
its headquarters from Fryeburg, Maine,
to a new, expanded and ultra-modern
facility in Windham, Maine.
According to general manager David
Morse, the move to Windham was
an investment into the company’s
continued and future success.
“The move has not only enabled us
to obtain a new, larger facility with
additions to our equipment capacities
and capabilities, but it has enabled us to
add and implement a customer account
management team whose focus will be
customer service and communications,
providing our clients with the specialised
attention and access to information they
require,” said Mr Morse.
Tube Hollows International supplies
precision seamless tube hollows used
for reduction, as well as for tubular
devices and components, with
many uses in surgical and implant
applications. Various industries’
demands for near perfect diametric
and wall thickness tolerances are
routinely satisfied by Tube Hollows
International’s proprietary, precision
gun drilling process.
Working with all commercial and medical
alloys, Tube Hollows International
can provide tube conditioning,
(improvement of surface finishes and
wall thickness variations), deep hole
drilling, trepanning, honing, grinding and
turning.
Medical, industrial, aerospace, oil and
gas, nuclear and automotive industries
have benefitted by the precise attention
to detail supplied by the company.
Tube Hollows International
– USA
