Offshore staff

COPENHAGEN -- Apache Energy has ordered gas flowlines from NKT Flexibles for its Halyard development off Northwest Australia. Delivery is scheduled for September.

The package comprises 16-km (9.9-mi), 8-in. (20.3-cm) ID flowlines and 16 km, 10-in. (25.4-cm) ID flowlines. In addition, NKT is supplying “hot type” bend restrictors, designed to accommodate the temperature profile at the wellhead end.

The main pipe design features an XLPE liner in 14 out of 16 pipe section, selected because of the field’s fluid composition. Its final two sections, however, will have a PVDF liner, again to take into account the wellhead end temperature.

NKT says the XLPE grade is the newest polymer material it can offer. XLPE, it adds, provides a more cost-efficient solution for applications demanding a wider temperature range, combining the low-temperature features of an HDPE liner with higher-temperature capabilities of a PVDF liner. The company claims its XLPE version is also highly durable and resistant.

5/10/2010