The development of pre-salt oil fields in the southeastern waters of Brazil is a key and challenging area for global deepwater oil and gas exploration. This region features water depths exceeding 2,000 meters, harsh sea conditions, complex seabed topography, and strong ocean currents. During drilling and production operations, critical equipment such as risers, jumpers, cables, and umbilicals are subjected to long-term swaying caused by underwater currents, friction with seabed structures, and continuous erosion from sand particles carried by seawater. Particularly at contact points between risers and seabed conduits, as well as interfaces between pipelines and seabed structures, severe local abrasion is likely to occur, threatening structural integrity and leading to costly repairs, production downtime, and even safety incidents.
Client Pain Points
An internationally leading energy company was operating a deepwater Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) project in Brazilian waters. The specific challenges they faced included:
Critical Wear Points: Steel risers showed signs of wear and potential failure at contact points with subsea templates and mudmats due to the effects of tides and currents.
Harsh Environment: The seawater is deep, under high pressure, and poses a risk of microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC).
Extremely High Maintenance Costs: Any subsea intervention or replacement work requires the mobilization of large construction vessels, which incurs high daily rates and is strictly limited by weather windows.
Stringent Regulatory Compliance: Operations must meet the rigorous safety and reliability requirements set by the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP) and international offshore engineering standards.
Solution: Offshore Protective Sleeve
A high-performance Offshore Protective Sleeve system was customized and provided for the client.
Core Product Design:
Materials: Utilizes a multi-layer composite structure. The inner layer is made of high-strength, highly abrasion-resistant polyurethane material, offering exceptional anti-friction and corrosion-resistant properties. The middle layer serves as a compression-resistant buffer, absorbing impact energy. The outer layer is a protective sheath resistant to weathering, UV radiation, and seawater corrosion.
Structure: Designed as a two-half clam shell type, facilitating quick field installation on offshore platforms or decks without the need for welding or heavy equipment, greatly simplifying the installation process.
Fastening System: Equipped with high-performance stainless steel or composite material clamping bands, ensuring no loosening or corrosion under long-term dynamic loads.
Results and Value
Exceptional Abrasion Protection: The protective sleeve effectively isolates direct contact between the riser and hard structures, absorbs frictional energy, and is projected to extend the service life of critical wear points by more than three times compared to the original design life.
Significant Lifecycle Cost Reduction: The one-time installation of this protective measure avoids unplanned, high-cost subsea repair operations and production losses, delivering a notable return on investment.
Enhanced Safety and Compliance: Greatly reduces the risk of leaks or structural failures caused by wear, safeguarding personnel, equipment, and the environment, fully complying with Brazilian and international operational standards.
Easy Installation and High Adaptability: The modular design allows for retrofitting on existing facilities and is also suitable for new project construction, reducing offshore construction time.
Conclusion
In this Brazilian deepwater project, the Offshore Protective Sleeve proved to be an economical, efficient, reliable, and durable engineering solution that successfully addressed critical wear issues in the harsh marine environment. It not only protected offshore assets worth millions of dollars but also created significant operational value for the client in the challenging pre-salt field development by ensuring production continuity and safety. This case demonstrates the product's broad application potential in global deepwater offshore projects, particularly in demanding markets like Brazil. Contact us！
