Company: Subsea 7
Speaker:  Mark Smithson

Topic:  Predictable pipeline performance with polymer liners.   

Synopsis:
Polymer liners have provided a global, cost-effective solution for internal corrosion mitigation of rigid water injection flowlines for more than 25 years. The first polymer lined subsea pipeline was installed in 1994, since then more than 400km of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) liners have been installed for subsea water injection service by Subsea7 companies. This track record includes design conditions and qualification programs demonstrating pressures up to 1293 bar at depths of greater than 1,500 m and temperatures up to 80°C with the potential to expand all these boundaries. Further evidence of the efficacy of polymer lining as a corrosion protection technology was demonstrated on recovery of a spool from a live field after 13 years in service which demonstrated no deterioration of either polymer material or carbon steel host pipe.

More recently this well-established flowline product has been supplemented by qualification of polymer lined pipe for dynamic riser service (steel catenary riser, SCR, and Steel Lazy Wave Riser, SLWR). The qualification program included fatigue testing on both full-scale polymer-lined pipe sections and small-scale material coupons. Combined with an investigation of liner behaviour in the vertical orientation. The riser product obtained qualification to technology readiness level (TRL) 5, from the industry recognized body, DNV. A deep-water riser has since been fabricated and installed off the back of this program and is ready to enter service.

Current developments in polymer lining technology have potential to offer these and other benefits in alternative service environments, such as Water Alternating Gas (WAG), production lines and new energy transition applications like Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) and Hydrogen transportation.

Polymer liners have provided a global, cost-effective solution for internal corrosion mitigation of rigid water injection flowlines for more than 25 years. The first polymer lined subsea pipeline was installed in 1994, since then more than 400km of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) liners have been installed for subsea water injection service by Subsea7 companies. This track record includes design conditions and qualification programs demonstrating pressures up to 1293 bar at depths of greater than 1,500 m and temperatures up to 80°C with the potential to expand all these boundaries. Further evidence of the efficacy of polymer lining as a corrosion protection technology was demonstrated on recovery of a spool from a live field after 13 years in service which demonstrated no deterioration of either polymer material or carbon steel host pipe.

More recently this well-established flowline product has been supplemented by qualification of polymer lined pipe for dynamic riser service (steel catenary riser, SCR, and Steel Lazy Wave Riser, SLWR). The qualification program included fatigue testing on both full-scale polymer-lined pipe sections and small-scale material coupons. Combined with an investigation of liner behaviour in the vertical orientation. The riser product obtained qualification to technology readiness level (TRL) 5, from the industry recognized body, DNV. A deep-water riser has since been fabricated and installed off the back of this program and is ready to enter service.

Current developments in polymer lining technology have potential to offer these and other benefits in alternative service environments, such as Water Alternating Gas (WAG), production lines and new energy transition applications like Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) and Hydrogen transportation.