2H Offshore, an Acteon company, has been awarded a contract by Chevron to manage a production riser weld qualification testing programme.
The aim of the development of 20,000 psi technology is to qualify the equipment required to develop future offshore fields with design pressures above 15,000 psi and temperatures above 250˚ F. These design pressure and temperature requirements result in line pipe wall thickness requirements as much as 1.9-in. for 8 to 10-in. diameter risers. This is beyond what the industry has already qualified and installed to date for fatigue sensitive deepwater risers.
The scope of the programme will incorporate test pipe specifications, procurement and qualification of new welding and AUT procedures and comprehensive fatigue testing that will include the effects of sour service conditions. In addition, the project scope includes the development of feasible marine riser system configurations for a number of different host vessels.
Nuri Saglar, 2H project manager, said, “We will be pushing the boundaries of current pipe manufacturing and fabrication processes in the programme, and we look forward to supporting Chevron in developing a fit-for-purpose welded riser joint for the next generation of high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) field developments.”
Ricky Thethi, 2H vice president, added, “We continue to be focused on the HPHT arena. Securing the Chevron production riser 20,000 psi qualification programme further strengthens our HPHT project experience, which already includes drilling and completion/workover riser systems.”