Belzona In The Oil & Gas Industry
Since the late 1980s Belzona has provided the Oil and Gas industry with solutions to the most difficult of problems where conventional solutions have failed. Downtime in this leading edge technology industry can result in millions of dollars of lost production. Engineers in the industry, responsible for specifying materials, are continually searching for ways to reduce costs and increase performance without sacrificing reliability.
At the front-end of every Oil or Gas production system are the separation stages where the aggressive production fluids take their expensive toll on the Separation Vessels. In 1989, a major oil and gas producer recognized that conventional internal coatings could no longer stand up to the effects of erosion-corrosion accelerated by sand entrainment at the elevated temperatures and pressures having been experienced.
A series of extensive simulation tests were undertaken at that time to evaluate the performance capability of coatings to resist these conditions, and resulted in Belzona® 1321 (Ceramic S-Metal) being identified as the only product satisfying the company's requirements.
During 1989 -1990 the separation vessels on two of this company's platforms in the North Sea were internally coated with the Belzona 1321 Ceramic System and have given excellent service life to date. Since the early 1990s this Belzona system has been specified by many major oil and gas companies throughout the world. For many oil and gas customers, it is the industry standard.
High Temperatures and Pressures? No Problem with Belzona
With ever increasing demand for higher production levels from marginal fields, the trend is toward higher operating temperatures and pressures within separation systems and Belzona have responded to this demand with the introduction of specialized high temperature/explosive decompression resistant coating systems that have a proven track record in service.
Testing began in Norway during the 1990s to evaluate independently the performance of coating systems operating at elevated temperatures and pressures of 90°C and 85 bar and has continued successfully. And today, a new generation of Belzona materials have been developed to perform in immersion temperatures up to 185°C and pressures in excess of 90bar.
These materials have proved to resist the demanding service conditions associated with high temperature and pressure fields and a have an impressive track record of success with major oil and gas companies including: Amerada Hess, Shell, BP, Conoco, DPC, ADCO, ARAMCO, Chevron, Unocal, Halliburton, Schlumberger and many others.
Belzona also offers solutions to many other problems in the Oil and Gas Industry where Erosion-Corrosion takes its toll on process equipment as explained below:
These Wemco Oil/Water Separation Units, where the corrosive oil and water mixtures at temperatures of 95°C, result in a breakdown of the vinyl ester glass flake coatings. Belzona® 1391 is capable of withstanding immersion in hydrocarbon production fluids at temperatures up to 130°C and was used to protect these units following repairs to holed areas with Belzona® 1311.
These oil/gas test separators required a high performance coating capable of protecting the internal areas of the units when utilized in high temperature and high pressure fields rich in H2S or CO2. Belzona® 1591, with its upper temperature limits of 185°C, has now been adopted by wireline testing companies to solve their corrosion problems in test separation equipment.
Belzona Excels over Glass Flake Systems
Continual problems of impact damage to glass flake coating systems used in these raw water filters. Belzona® 1341, a specialized non-stick coating system has been successful in solving these on-going problems and extending equipment life. High velocity corrosive fluids from the produced water system, entering the manifold of this hydro-cyclone unit, were continually causing breakdown until it was protected with Belzona® 1321 (Ceramic S-Metal), which is capable of extending the life of this unit, even in sour water service.
Pumps
Pumps are an integral part of any oil and gas production unit and are critical to the operation of any platform. These sea water lift pumps are just a few of many that benefit from being protected by Belzona, which not only extends their service life, but also increases their efficiency.
Belzona also provides solutions to many of the day-to-day maintenance problems encountered in the industry:
- Repair of crevice corrosion pitting on flange faces.
- Forming of spiral wound flanges to prevent crevice corrosion.
- Sealing leaks and overlaying welds to repair and prevent weld root corrosion.
Under Insulation Corrosion
One of the most prolific corrosion problems faced by the oil and gas industry is Under Insulation Corrosion or (UIC), which costs millions of dollars associated with process pipework and vessel repair.
Traditional insulation systems are unable to prevent moisture penetration into the insulation causing severe deterioration of the underlying pipework or vessel. Poor resistance to impact can result in easy access of corrosive salt water from the fire sprinkler system exacerbating the problem.
Belzona® 3211 (Lagseal) is a water-based, fire-resistant Membrane System that has the capability to provide a seamless, impact resistant outer layer to most insulating materials preventing the ingress of moisture while allowing the protected insulation to breathe.
Countless oil and gas companies around the world rely on the Belzona® 3211 System to solve the problems of Under-Insulation-Corrosion.
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