February 2020, Vol. 247, No. 2
Tech Notes
All-Polymer Connector Delivered to 3 Operators
By Del Williams, Technical Writer
Subsea pipelines polymer-lining specialist Swagelining installed its LinerBridge connector technology for the first time within pipeline bundles at one of Equinor’s developments in the Norwegian North Sea.
The installation was followed by a second project for reeled tie-ins for Wintershall Dea’s Nova water injection pipeline in the Norwegian North Sea and again at Ithaca Energy’s Cook Field in the North Sea.
The technology increases the cost-effectiveness and lowers complexity of polymer-lining systems, enabling a step change in tackling costly internal corrosion of pipelines and risers. LinerBridge is an alternative to conventional corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) connectors and creates a robust and fully integrated polymer barrier within the pipeline.
One of the key components of a polymer-integrated lining system is the connector technology, since connectors are required to join sections of polymer-lined pipeline together to form the overall pipeline length and to terminate the pipeline.
Manufactured from the same material as the liner, the innovative connector contains no CRA materials, removing the need for costly CRA welding and unlocking the value of polymer lining.
Liam Macintyre, managing director of Swagelining described the innovation as “the enabler in expanding the application of polymer-lining’s cost-effective corrosion protection to other offshore pipeline systems such as deepwater flowlines, dynamic service risers and S- and J-lay installation methods.”
The installation involves electrofusion welding technology adapted from the onshore gas industry to provide a continuous polymer corrosion barrier end-to-end for the pipeline system. This reduces connector procurement costs and schedule and allows for standard carbon steel welding procedures to be utilized for pipeline tie-ins.
LinerBridge has been qualified by DNV GL for use in offshore and onshore applications, including towed pipeline bundles and reel-lay.
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