Strohm has concluded a joint industry program (JIP) for its Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP) flowline technology with Petrobras and Shell.

The project involved a full-scale qualification and offshore trial.

While Brazil’s pre-salt fields have some of the world’s most productive wells, high CO₂ concentrations in the fields have also caused premature failure of conventional flexible pipes, Strohm explained, due to stress corrosion cracking.

This has forced the operators to replace the flowlines regularly, leading to deferred production.

The JIP program is said to have delivered the first fully qualified flowline designed to meet onerous Brazilian pre-salt conditions, with a 30-year service life for operation in high CO₂ content environments.

Activities included system-representative testing. This is said to have confirmed the interaction between the pipe, end-fitting and sealing interfaces under realistic operating conditions, thereby ensuring a sound, predictable performance throughout the system’s lifecycle.

Strohm CEO Martin van Onna said: “By using non-metallic TCP, corrosion is simply eliminated, strengthening system integrity and operational reliability in challenging subsea environments.

“Strohm’s TCP flowline is designed to be installed by today’s installation vessels without the need to change anything. The installation procedures do not require material changes and the pipeline’s behaviour both on the vessel and subsea during installation is fully predictable and in line with industry practice…

“We are ramping up production capacity to meet the expected demand.”

Also for the JIP, DNV qualified a 6-inch carbon fiber-PA12 TCP for alternating injection of water and gas (WAG) service for enhanced oil recovery, in line with DNV-ST-F119.

The qualification program, representing more than 50,000 testing hours, covered materials, sealing testing, and full-scale testing, with over 40 individual tests conducted across seven laboratories and certified testing houses ins Europe and Brazil.

Ramón Rojas, JIP programme manager at Strohm said: “The development is based on a fully integrated methodology that combines engineering design, material selection, structural analysis and full scale validation. This approach ensures that predicted and actual performance are aligned, providing a high level of confidence in the system’s behaviour under demanding operational conditions…

Philippe Noury, technical lead for the DNV verification, added: “This qualification provides the independent technical basis for moving into the planned pilot. It also gives the industry a practical example of how non-metallic flowlines can be assessed under DNV-ST-F119 for demanding, high-CO₂ deepwater service.”

Following the DNV qualification, offshore field trials with a TCP flowline, completed in July, included deep immersion performance and subsea vertical connection tests. They were designed to validate the pipe’s structural robustness and confirm reliable performance during offshore handling, installation and subsea system connection.

Petrobras now plans to install and operating a pilot flowline in a Brazilian pre-salt field early next year.