Innovate how you protect your offshore equipment and extend operating life: Christmas Trees
North Sea oil and the oil and gas sector as a whole is operating in a tough market environment at present and operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the wider supply chain is having to adapt.
As manufacturers and operators scale back to reduce their cost base, it is important that engineers do not overlook the opportunity that surface engineering presents to reduce capital cost and improve operational efficiency.
Over a series of Blog posts we will be examining how the Oil and Gas industry can innovate equipment repair and maintenance processes to become leaner and more efficient.
Extend equipment lifespan
The decision on whether equipment can be refurbished or salvaged is driven by many factors, including the functional properties required and the operating environment, further highlighting the need to work with a technical partner appropriately equipped to thoroughly investigate the situation and diagnose the appropriate solution. When assessing repair and refurbishment jobs, it is also crucial that customer approvals and accreditations are considered, which is why any potential supplier must perform refurbishment work in-line with current regulatory frameworks and customer requirements.
Methods of repairing, maintaining and preserving Christmas Trees
Made up of a number of valves, spools and fittings, these are essential parts of any subsea and surface system used to control the flow, usually oil and gas, out of the well. Pipelines and Christmas Trees, which are used in subsea oil drilling operations, are subject to harsh undersea conditions. Such a hostile environment can lead to tremendous surface wear and corrosion, but this equipment can be cost-effectively refurbished by working with an oil & gas coating specialist.
For repairs to complex equipment like Christmas Trees, abrasive blasting is often not a viable option due to problems of blast material ingress. As an alternative, we use a bristle blasting method as it enables rapid spot repair to small and medium sized areas. It also delivers significant time and cost saving on component repair versus the complete strip down, blast and recoat, making it a very cost effective method for refurbishing Christmas Trees and associated components.
In next week’s Blog post we will focus on the repair and maintenance options for valve applications.
Download our new white paper: Providing a new lease of life for oil and gas equipment in stormy times or contact us now to discuss how we can help you repair and maintain offshore oil and gas equipment.