Balmoral Offshore Engineering
Profile
With 30+ years’ experience in syntactic foam and polymer engineering, Balmoral provides global services through concept, design, manufacturing and testing. Products include thermal insulation; rigid and dynamic riser buoyancy; ROV and subsurface buoyancy; cable protectors; bend restrictors/stiffeners; clamps; VIV strakes; riser protection guards.
Address
Balmoral Park Loirston
Aberdeen, AB12 3GY
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (1224) 859000
Fax: +44 (1224) 859059
Press Releases
Deepest ever drill riser buoyancy unveiled at Offshore Technology Conference
Lower density, lighter weight materials provide more lift for the money
HOUSTON (April 30, 2012) Balmoral Offshore Engineering, a leader in deepwater buoyancy, insulation and elastomer product specialist, introduced two additions to its drill riser buoyancy portfolio at the 2012 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
The new materials, Durafloat Superlite and Durafloat Superlite-X, are rated to operating depths of 15,000 feet; typically 3,000-5,000 feet deeper than the current industry-standard drill riser buoyancy.
“Drilling operations in waters of great depth and high currents – such as the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Brazil – demand the deployment of ultra-heavy riser strings,” said Bob Haley, vice president of sales, riser products. “Deepwater buoyancy modules are also substantial in size and weight and are susceptible to damage caused by vessel motion and strong ocean currents.”
Drill riser buoyancy provides ‘uplift’ by effectively decreasing the submerged weight of the steel riser joints which run between the drilling vessel and the blow-out preventer (BOP) on the seabed.
The syntactic foams are an extension to the company’s existing Durafloat range and were developed by the technical and engineering teams in Aberdeen, Scotland as part of a six-figure R&D investment program.
Balmoral’s technical and engineering teams were tasked with developing the lighter syntactic material for use at operational extremes of 15,000 feet. It was also imperative that with the lower density, lighter weight materials there should not be a cost penalty to customers.
Technical director, Dr Bob Oram, said: “Having successfully developed our range of Durafloat riser buoyancy to working depths of 12,000 feet it became clear, as the industry moves into ever-deeper waters, that further product development was required.”
With the addition of Durafloat Superlite and Durafloat Superlite-X, Balmoral Offshore Engineering now offers market-leading densities and performance levels across the entire spectrum of drilling operations. However, the essential increase in mechanical performance demanded to operate at these depths cannot be accompanied by a reduction in available buoyancy, and so foam density reduction was targeted alongside mechanical performance improvement.
Jim Milne, Balmoral’s chairman and managing director, who is attending his 37th OTC, concluded: “We are proud to offer clients real solutions to their challenges. Our commitment to research is second to none and has helped us become the drilling industry’s buoyancy manufacturer of choice.”
With the launch of the new materials, Balmoral anticipates increased levels of demand for its drilling buoyancy. A conservative estimate puts the global drill riser buoyancy market in excess of $350 million annually.
Products
Name: Drill riser buoyancy modules
Description: Drill riser buoyancy provides lift while reducing the submerged weight of the riser joints.
Details:
This helps to minimise top tension and prevent stress in the riser while reducing loadings during deployment/retrieval of the blow-out preventer (BOP) stack.
Drilling risers extend from the BOP to the drilling vessel with their primary function being the provision of fluid communications between the well and the drilling vessel while supporting the choke, kill and auxiliary lines. The riser is also used to guide tools into the well and serves as a running/retrieving string for the BOP.
Name: Dynamic buoyancy modules
Description: Flexible pipe and umbilicals require the use of buoyancy modules to reduce topside or tension loads to achieve particular configurations which include lazy, steep, pliant and W-wave.
Details:
BOE distributed buoyancy modules generally consist of an internal clamping system and syntactic foam buoyancy elements. The buoyancy elements are supplied in two halves incorporating a moulded internal recess that is configured to transfer the forces from the buoyancy to the clamp and subsequently the riser. This recess also accommodates bending of the riser during service. The internal clamping system is fixed to the pipe and the two half modules are fastened around the clamp.
Name: Balmoral Duraguard: Cable protection
Description: Duraguard was developed for the protection of subsea cables, flexible jumpers, flexible flowlines and riser touchdown zones although many other applications have been identified.
Details:
Balmoral Duraguard provides a cost effective localised impact and abrasion protection system and is supplied as pairs of interlocking half shells secured around the core product using circumferential straps.
In addition to providing mechanical protection, Duraguard HD can be supplied in a highly ballasted form to enable its use as ballast or stabilising systems.
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