Magma Global entered into a joint development agreement with BP and Subsea 7 to qualify Magma’s carbon fiber m-pipe for subsea pipelines.
The program is also supported by the National Composites Centre (NCC) and Innovate UK, the government initiative established to support pioneering technologies in the energy sector.
Magma’s m-pipe is a high strength, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, fully bonded, composite thermoplastic pipe. The high specific strength and corrosion resistant nature of composite technology makes it ideal for the oil and gas industry where deep water environments and corrosive fluids challenge the integrity of steel structures. Manufactured from carbon fiber and PEEK polymer materials, m-pipe is suitable for a wide spectrum of fluids and gases.
The qualification program, which runs for 30 months, targets 6-12in pipes for risers and jumper systems for deepwater environments and includes laminate testing (elevated T and aged properties), single load tests (tensile, burst, collapse, bending, torsion, compression, impact) and combined load tests (axial bending, collapse bending, pressure bending, axial pressure bending).
The hope is that the results will lead to lighter and more cost efficient riser systems than currently exist to help reduce the costs of deep water field developments, and in particular those with corrosive fluids. Similarly, jumpers or spool pipes which are subject to exceptional cyclical loads will be easier and less expensive to design and install, and will be more reliable to service. In addition the qualification program will deliver the necessary inspection techniques to verify the long-term integrity of the systems.
Composite pipe technology has the potential to improve cost effectiveness and remove the uncertainties of schedule delivery for many subsea solutions, said Thomas Sunde, vice president of technology at Subsea 7.
“Magma Global are delighted that BP and Subsea 7 have chosen to collaborate in the qualification and deployment of Magma’s m-pipe technology. This program is a brilliant example of how government, a major oil company, a major SURF contractor and a technology supplier can work together to deliver significant reductions in risk and cost for offshore field development,” said Charles Tavner, commercial director Magma Global.
The oil and gas industry has widely adopted the use of composites in a variety of applications over the past 20 years, including onshore production piping, fire water pipe and repair, and protection of structures. The increasing demands on materials to meet future technical requirements for risers, intervention lines, spools and components such as stress joints has led the industry to take a closer look at composites for these more demanding subsea applications. Magma Global is currently expanding its capacity in its Portsmouth UK headquarters and manufacturing base to meet growing demand for deep water risers, jumpers and intervention lines.
Image: BP and Subsea 7/ Magma Global
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