PP Multilayer Coating Systems for the Offshore Pipeline Industry [PE]

During the last 15 years multilayer polypropylene coating systems have been developed and used as external coating for subsea pipelines in the offshore industry. There is now an increasing interest in the offshore steel pipe coating market for deepwater fields with a depth exceeding 1000 meters. The Gulf of Mexico and the coastal waters of West Africa and Brazil are some of the locations where new gas and oil fields are currently under development and in operation. As the trend in global offshore oil and gas exploration is towards deeper water, material development is pushed to meet the new requirements. The latest developments in polypropylene (PP) for this application are therefore aimed at this new demanding environment. This paper describes the characteristics and results obtained with the new PP materials used specifically for thermal insulation of subsea pipelines.