T TOM O R ROW A Technip Technology Publication - Issue 3 - October 2013 Innovation and Technology Center Technip Umbilical Systems Spars and beyond Technip-Air Products Hydrogen Alliance Tomorrow-Technip-October 2013
P. P. 4-5 8-9 Expanding manufacturing R&D capabilities Innovation and Technology Center At the heart of the Group s strategy P. P. 6-7 Technip Umbilical Systems 10-11 Technip-Air Products Hydrogen Alliance Enhancing the refining industry productivity Spars and Beyond Taking offshore technologies further Tomorrow Magazine A Technip Technology Publication Issue 3 October 2013 You can find the previous issues of Tomorrow at: http://www.technip.com/en/media-center/ tomorrow-magazine Your comments are always welcome: publicrelations@technip.com Director of Publication: Christophe Bélorgeot Chief Editor: Caroline Aurelle Associate Editors - October 2013 issue: Alain Marion, Brian A. Roberts, Cindy Viktorin, Deanna Goodwin, Emma Maddison, Jean-Louis Rostaing, Koos Overwater, Laurent Decoret, Marie-Christine Charrier, Stéphane His, Tom Ayers Photography: Technip image library, Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology, Technip Umbilical Systems, Thierry Gonzalez Design and production: Lydia Marchetti The Group Communications Department would like to thank everyone who contributed to this issue. Technip - 89 avenue de la Grande Armée - 75116 Paris - France This document is printed on Heaven 42 This document is the property of Technip. Any modification, reproduction or commercial use of this document is prohibited.
At a time when new entrants are challenging our leading position in every oil and gas development province in the world, technology is more than ever a key strategic focus for Technip. Over the past five years, Technip has more than doubled its research and development (R&D) expenditure. Today, there are over 370 professionals dedicated to Subsea R&D worldwide, and operating in our R&D centers located in France, the UK and more recently in Brazil. These centers are covering all our key technologies: flexible pipes, rigid pipelines, umbilicals, hybrid risers, robotics, predictive monitoring, and advanced subsea field architectures. EDITORIAL But how will Technip come up with further innovative or transformative ideas? There are numerous concepts and quotes from famous people or organizations, which can describe or characterize innovation. However if I was to mention only one, I would highlight the idea whereby in order to best innovate, you have to first create an environment fostering innovation. This is precisely what Technip s new Innovation and Technology Center in Rueil-Malmaison is all about for us. We firmly believe we will have reached our goals when our clients and all our business partners share the same vision whereby whenever they think technology, they think Technip. It is about bringing together the Group s technology experts, coming from the various cultures that make Technip today, to create a stimulating and cross-fertilizing workplace. As with other similar organizations, it is about creating the alchemy among the 150 people that will ultimately populate this site, to enable them to think beyond their own expertise and their own traditional ways. Finally, it is about bridging ideas and industrial reality with the proper mix of science, technology and business focus, in a multi-cultural and diverse environment. This Innovation & Technology Center will be the heart of Technip s subsea technology network, coordinating our subsea R&D effort in close liaison with all our stakeholders including our Regional business entities. Our main mission will be to boost innovation within our R&D centers, to stimulate the action of our key technology and industrial partners, to come up with the new technologies which will make a difference to our clients. This will enable us to develop our competencies and attract highly qualified professionals to efficiently support the growth of our business, and ultimately ensure our clients success. To be successful, we need people, we needed a place which we now have, and we need a spirit. We firmly believe we will have reached our goals when our clients and all our business and technology partners do share the same vision whereby whenever they think Technology, they think Technip. With that in mind, I hope you thoroughly enjoy reading this issue of our technology magazine, Tomorrow. Alain Marion Senior Vice President Innovation and Technology Tomorrow-Technip-October 2013
In the subsea sector, Technip has a unique vertically integrated business capability, able to cover the entire value chain for subsea infrastructures. This is underpinned by a strong focus on research and development (R&D) for all our proprietary products and priority technologies in order to provide our clients with enabling and differentiating solutions to their ever growing challenges. ITC: Technip s new Innovation and Technology Center Technip s Innovation and Technology Center showroom Innovation at the Heart of Technip s Subsea Strategy ITC is Technip s central hub for the management of subsea technology development. One of its main missions is to coordinate and consolidate the effort of our different worldwide dedicated R&D centers, ensuring that our prioritized R&D programs are structured in suitable portfolios aligned with our regional business objectives, and the strategic market orientations that have been identified; focusing on ultradeep water, difficult reservoirs conditions, subsea asset integrity management, smart pipelines and advanced subsea architectures. ITC is in charge of establishing the overall threeyear R&D plan, ensuring that an adequate balance of programs is defined along the Technology Readiness Level scale, from blue sky ideas for developing future game changing technologies, to consolidation effort to further enhance today s products to ensure the highest levels of quality and reliability for our customers. ITC is also a platform to leverage on the wide ranging expertise within Technip and enable more effective crossfertilization between technologies and centers. To achieve this, representatives from different R&D centers will be based in ITC, which also provides a structure and location to attract additional resources of highly qualified specialists able to contribute across the technology board, for example in metallurgy, composite materials, or reliability engineering. Another key role of ITC is to actively encourage the innovation spirit throughout the Group. This includes developing effective processes to better recognize, capture and mature ideas that are emerging from the day-to-day activities of all our entities, and which will ultimately contribute to feed the R&D program. This is also supported by developing an open innovation culture, establishing preferred relationship with universities, research companies and industrial partners, in some cases outwith the traditional oil & gas industry, to broaden Technip s exposure and access to new and differentiating technologies. Finally, ITC s mission includes
4- the active promotion of Technip technologies both within the Group, and externally with our clients and partners. With the support of the Regional Technology Officers now in place in our main Business Units across the world, we are well placed to further engage with our clients at technology level, to better understand the challenges they are facing for their future developments, and the technologies they are seeking to address them. In support of this effort, and to provide a more engaging experience to present Technip technologies to all our stakeholders, in addition to a traditional showroom displaying various proprietary product samples, ITC developed an extensive set of state-of-the-art virtual content tools enabling visitors to interact with our technologies. For example, one can perform a Google street view type visit of one of our flexible manufacturing plants and get access to information and explanations on fabrication processes by launching videos or detailed presentations. Alternatively, an interactive visit of some of our vessels, mixing virtual reality and real 360 visual, can provide a realistic overview of our assets. A better understanding of the make-up of a flexible pipe or an umbilical can be achieved by playing with a full 3D virtual model, enabling to easily remove or isolate the various layers and components. These tools will in time be deployed throughout the Group, closer to our clients. 5 Imagine the future, create a difference, deliver success for our customers. This is what we expect from our R&D teams to take technology further at Technip. An example of virtual content development - Vessel virtual visit Innovative Technologies To further illustrate Technip s focus on technology, here are a few examples of on-going R&D programs which will lead to innovative and in some cases game-changing technologies. Anti H2S plastic sheath: the increasing H2S content in the production fluid requires the use of sour service resistance steel grades for the load bearing metallic layers of the flexible pipe. A specially formulated plastic material has been developed to be extruded as a sheath layer neutralizing the H2S diffusing from the pipe bore before it reaches the flexible annulus and comes into contact with the steel wires. This enables the use of sweet service high mechanical characteristics steel grades, which for the same design parameters leads to a significant reduction in the pipe weight, a clear benefit for deepwater developments. ITH-PIP: after the successful deployment of the first subsea Electrically Trace Heating PipeIn-Pipe, on Islay in the North Sea, an on-going full scale test program is demonstrating the ITH-PIP capability to detect and safely melt hydrate plugs that can form during some production transient phases. This could ultimately result in a different way of developing deepwater subsea field architecture, giving more flexibility to our customers to manage difficult flow conditions. Morphopipe: this on-going program will enable insertion, within the flexible riser critical fatigue area, of advanced sensors providing live data on the flexible behavior in particular for fatigue monitoring. Carbon Fiber Armor: this extensive program which is in its final qualification stage, will enable to replace the flexible pipe tensile steel armors by carbon fiber ones, which have much higher mechanical strength for a much lower weight. This is a key enabler for tomorrow s ultra deepwater application. Umbilical high tensile aluminium conductor: this program, nearing completion, aims at qualifiying high tensile aluminium conductor to replace copper in umbilical electrical cable, to achieve better fatigue performance and enable umbilical installation in much deeper water depths. Other longer term programs investigate the use of nano materials to further enhance the performance and range of our products, or ways to embed more intelligence in our products to provide the operators with relevant information, not only for asset health monitoring but also production optimization. For further information, please contact ldecoret@technip.com To find out more about Anti H2S and ITH-PIP technologies please refer to the 1st issue of Tomorrow on www.technip.com Tomorrow-Technip-October 2013
Technip Umbilical Systems (TUS), is committed to expanding the limits of what is possible. Coupling ingenious ideas with extensive R&D capabilities, they have pioneered solutions for harsh environments and dynamic applications that require superior engineering and product quality. Technip Umbilical Systems: expanding manufacturing R&D capabilities A Dedicated Steel Tube Umbilical Plant The recently opened, stateof-the-art R&D facility in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, underscores the priority that has always been placed on R&D. This dedicated R&D center allows TUS to work with the latest materials and develop solutions that will produce key improvements in areas such as ease of installation and reliability. In addition to the R&D center, TUS world-class steel tube umbilical plant, also in Newcastle upon Tyne, will be the umbilical industry s most modern manufacturing facility when it opens later in 2013. It will house a state-of-the-art vertical helix assembly machine (VHAM) and large carousels to accommodate the bigger diameters and longer lengths of umbilicals that clients require for deeper waters and more challenging environments where the majority of future hydrocarbon reserves are located. The Newcastle site boasts an ideal location next to a deepwater berth with easy access to all Norwegian, southern North Sea and all European fields, as well as good shipping to the rest of the world. Technip Umbilical Systems R&D team in Newcastle, UK Innovation Eases Stab Plate Installation Innovation that is based on the needs of our clients to support their success has always been key to our growth and success. Later in 2013, TUS will introduce a Multiple Quick Connect (MQC) Stab Plate that addresses key challenges to simplify installation by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). A stab plate fitted to the ends of flying lead and jumper umbilicals is key to enabling hydraulic and electrical connection between subsea control equipment such as umbilical termination assemblies, distribution units and wellhead Xmas trees. The plate is designed in two mating halves, an outboard plate on the flying lead and an inboard plate on the subsea hardware. The new TUS design will offer a lot more reliability and quality, so the product can be easily and safely installed. The alignment system is a three-stage process, via the bumpers around the plate and the nose cone, which when both combined make a coarse, medium and fine alignment. The ROV indication system also takes place in three stages.
6- Some of the key challenges faced when designing the new stab plate were to: Make it mateable using an ROV class 4 torque tool Arrange for it to be relatively lightweight (<75 kg) Give it a robust alignment system Ensure that it mates without risk of damage to couplings/electrical con nectors Guarantee it withstands the hydraulic separation force of the couplings (~ 55 te) indication devices to show the ROV pilot latching, locking and engagement. Two of the above clearly drove the new design the separation force and the alignment system. The design incorporates a high strength locking mechanism, which is positively engaged into a drive shaft within the body of the housing. The locking bayonet has been elongated and protected via a nose cone. This nose cone is designed to mate with the female portion of the system Include a secondary release on the inboard plate, providing mechanism and a number of the ROV pilot with a large target when mating the plates together. Once the nose cone is home, the guide bumpers around the plate prevent any rotation, keeping the plate aligned prior to coupling engagement. At this position, the mandrel within the female mating half is within the bayonet. The locking system is made using a 1 ¾ acme thread connection. The ROV class 4 torque bucket allows the ROV to latch onto the MQC stab plate, and the nut upon the drive system can rotate. As it rotates the bayonet is pulled within the nose cone and, via a system of slots within the 7 bayonet, the cone is rotated 30 degrees, preventing the bayonet and mandrel from separating. Further driving the acme thread pulls the two plates together, making the connection. Key design features of the plate have been met during the design stage. The tool is operable via an ROV. The design principle has been to focus upon the largest separation force the plate could withstand, that being 55 te. The plate has undergone a significant qualification program to ensure it is ready for market. Protective bumper and guides MQC Stab Plate s strength locking mechanism Female mating half Drive system High strength locking mechanism Class 4 torque bucket Hydraulic couplings This new MQC stab plate alongside TUS umbilical plant, and R&D center highlight Technip s will to take research and development further. Working with the latest technology, in challenging environments, will drive innovation and thus our ability to provide our clients with high-end solutions tailored to their needs today and tomorrow. QUALIFICATION TESTING An extensive technical qualification program has been undertaken including: Internal Proof & Leak Pressure Mated & Unmated Mate/De-mate with a combination of lines under Design Pressure Misalignment Test Horizontal, Vertical and Rotational Impact Loading Mate/De mate with a force of 5000 N Load Test Side Loading, ROV Accidental Loads Secondary Release Mechanism Hyperbaric Mate/De-mate with all lines under Design Pressure Vibration and Drop Tests For further information, please visit http:// www.technip.com/en/entities/tus or contact emaddison@ducoltd.com Tomorrow-Technip-October 2013
Technip is THE reference company for Spar delivery, having successfully delivered 15 of the 18 Spars in operation in the world today. One of our major Spar clients has even summarized our performance as: On time, every time, with excellence in safety. Additionally Technip is also diversifying its Floating Production System portfolio, with semisubmersible and Tension-Leg Platform (TLP) designs, aiming to become the reference company for floating production systems overall. Technip continues to develop the Spar technology with a closed centerwell configuration which allows for additional payload, and also by improving our proven delivery model with the business excellence process. Taking it further Spars and Beyond Spars: a Technip leadership For further information, please visit http://www.technip.com/en/our-business/offshore/floating-platforms or contact tayers@technip.com Spars from the Start Since inception in 1972, Technip s yard in Finland has delivered 22 drilling rigs, two multipurpose service vessels, a pipe layer, modules for nine production platforms, 13 Spars, and is on track to deliver the Heidelberg Spar in the second half of 2014. Technip, in an international cooperation between Technip Offshore Finland and Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering, delivered the Kikeh Truss Spar for Malaysia. Additionally, we have delivered the Red Hawk Cell Spar from our former facility in the Gulf of Mexico. The Spar evolution started with the Classic Spar design, and has developed into the successful Truss Spar design that has been a project enabler for fields which require a low motion floating facility. The Truss Spar is composed of three distinct sections: the hard tank, the truss section and the soft tank. The hard tank is designed to withstand the hydrostatic head of the surrounding water and loading imposed by waves, as well as providing the buoyancy for the hull. The hard tank has a centerwell that is open to the seawater, and can also support the helical strakes if required to reduce the vortex induced motion of the hull. The soft tank is located at the keel of the hull and is designed to hold the fixed ballast required to maintain the low pitch motion of the hull. The soft tank is filled with iron ore ballast and is not designed to withstand hydrostatic head of the surrounding seawater. The truss section connects the hard tank and the soft tank together. The heave motion (up and down) of the hull is controlled by the heave plates located in the truss section. Their size and shape are calculated according to the configuration of the platform, the payload and the risers. Technip still develops the Truss Spar delivery model despite being the reference
8- company for Spar deliveries. Yet areas for development for this specific type of Spar have been identified, most notably introducing a closed centerwell design, which would take full advantage of the lost buoyancy within the centerwell of the Spar. This additional buoyancy would allow for a smaller Spar diameter, and increased efficiency of the Truss Spar hull, depending on configuration. This could be a key differentiator as well as a project enabler for our customers as it allows for smaller hull diameters for larger-sized topsides. Technip s delivery model efficiency is also being strengthened through the Business Excellence Program, which addresses procurement, engineering, fabrication and project management. Specifically Technip Offshore Finland, is in the process of implementing a detailed productivity improvement plan to help use tools such as advance productivity planning, 5S (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain), and advanced materials management. This productivity improvement is centered on building and installing structures in the right sequence, with the right quality. This focus will lead to a project that is safely delivered with the right level of profitability, all while maintaining a competitive edge. 9 In addition to the above, Technip is reinforcing its HSES journey in Finland. HSES leading indicators, particularly around the areas of management safety walks and pre-task risk assessments are essential for safe and successful project execution. This increase in HSES focus is utilizing the principals from the Pulse program, and has resulted in a continuous improvement in preventing injuries over the last four Spar projects. Our Spar platform portfolio highlights our long acquired leadership in this technology. With ongoing and continuous improvement programs, we are determined to remain the reference company when it comes to Spar platforms, and expand our offer to include TLP and semi-submersible platforms through our ongoing technology expansion. Lucius Spar, under construction in our Pori Yard Tomorrow-Technip-October 2013
Within a petroleum refinery, hydrogen removes impurities found in crude oil and improves the yield and quality of gasoline and diesel fuels. It is the lightest gas known and hence, is difficult to store or transport, as very large gas containers or low liquefaction temperatures would be required. For this reason most refinery hydrogen is generated in-situ and directly supplied by pipeline to various hydrogen consuming processes. With 50 years of hydrogen technology experience, Technip holds a global leadership position in this market. Technip s success stems, in part, from its alliance with Air Products, a leading supplier of hydrogen to refineries and petrochemical plants. The end-users consider over-thefence hydrogen as advantageous compared to building and operating their own plants. Air Products and Technip s Hydrogen s 20-year alliance Thirty-first hydrogen plant built by the H2 alliance, located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Enhancing the refining industry s productivity for more than 20 years Through the alliance, which started in 1992, Technip supplies design and construction services for hydrogen plants and Air Products provides the gas separation technology. Technip, from its large reference base, and Air Products, through its extensive operating network, also bring together effective engineering and operational knowledge to design-in high efficiency and reliability. The plants are operated and maintained by Air Products under long-term agreements with customers. The sale-ofgas (SOG) business model provides refiners with reliable and cost effective hydrogen, along with reduced risk and capital investment. After jointly developing 35 plants with a total installed hydrogen capacity of over 2.3 million normal cubic meters per hour, the alliance is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Today, it is recognized as the longest and most productive global hydrogen alliance supporting the oil and gas industry around the world. Most hydrogen plants are based on steam methane reforming (SMR) methods, where hydrocarbons such as natural gas (or methane), LPG, naphtha or refinery off gases chemically react, or are reformed with steam over a catalyst into a hydrogen containing gas mixture (syngas). This reaction requires high heat at severe operating conditions, typically around 870 C or 30 bar. The reactor functions as a furnace with up to several hundred catalyst-filled tubes, typically 11-13 meters long and 8-12 centimeters in diameter, arranged in parallel rows. The special tubes are made of centrifugally cast nickel/ chrome alloy materials that can withstand high reaction temperatures and pressures.
10 - The required heat is supplied by the combustion of fuel gas. Flue gases leave the firebox and enter the convection section where they are cooled. The residual heat is recovered and used to preheat process streams, generate steam and preheat combustion air. On the process side, the hot syngas leaving the reformer is also cooled down in a series of heat exchangers. The syngas is further purified in a special reactor (water gas shift) and adsorber system (PSA or Pressure Swing Adsorption) to obtain a pure hydrogen stream. The impurities removed from the syngas are used as fuel in the steam reformer furnace. As a result of these process integration and heat integration steps, the thermal efficiency of the steam reformer is typically 92% or more. Another important part of the hydrogen plant is the feed pretreatment system, where eventual impurities such as sulfur are removed in one or more dedicated reactors. Further, often a pre-reformer is applied, which is an adiabatic fixed bed reactor filled with a highly active reforming catalyst that will off-load the main steam reformer, especially when the requirements are to operate the plant with multiple feedstocks, such as natural gas and/or naphtha. The steam system is also essential. The thermodynamics of the process together with a high degree of heat integration ensure that sufficient waste heat is available for the internal generation of the required process steam. Often even a surplus of heat is available, making the plant an exporter of steam. The amount and quality of export steam is a 11 design parameter that can be optimized in accordance with client requirements. The design of a hydrogen plant is a highly specialized engineering discipline that involves expertise in both process engineering and (high temperature) mechanical engineering. Within the alliance, Technip s leading SMR technology that was developed over five decades is combined with Air Products goal to maintain its historical track record of operational excellence. Thierry Pilenko, left, and John McGlade, right, present a scholarship cheque to Dr. Subba Viswanathan representing the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Both companies recognize that efficiency, environmental, and economic drivers push the need for continuous improvement and innovation, making overthe-fence SOG agreements attractive to refiners around the world. For that reason, Technip and Air Products participate in joint product development programs, where new ideas are nurtured and challenged. Continuously, studies are executed about a variety of engineering and operational aspects such as energy optimization, material selection, plant lay-out, engineering standardization and process control. On top of this, compliance with formal and informal HSE requirements is a crucial design constraint. For instance, this is reflected in the design of intelligent emergency shutdown systems that do not jeopardize the reliability of the plant, and in the application of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) reduction technology, such as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) or specially designed Low NOx burners. Nitrogen Oxides are major components of smog and are also identified as greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. To commemorate the 20-year milestone of their alliance, Technip and Air Products awarded a total of $200,000 in scholarships to four colleges and universities: Indian Institute of Technology (Madras, India); King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia); Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania); and Rice University (Houston, Texas). During the presentation ceremony, Thierry Pilenko, Technip s Chairman and CEO and John McGlade, Air Products President, Chairman and CEO, said the scholarships are designed to support the next generation of innovators. Just as Air Products and Technip work together to provide our customers with innovative and strategic solutions, these scholarships are awarded to support students with fostering innovation, technology and continuous improvement ideas. Encouraging those ideas is key, as the alliance looks ahead to the next 20 years. Tomorrow-Technip-October 2013
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