TPi March 2013

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.

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.

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

The Petrobras pig launcher and retrieval system

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

Arc Energy Resources – UK sales@arcenergy.co.uk www.arcenergy.co.uk

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. customer service and communications, providing our clients with the specialised attention and access to information they require,” said Mr Morse.

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 info@tubehollows.com www.tubehollows.com

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.

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

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March 2013 Tube Products International