Oil & Gas

Reach Further and Deeper With Cost Saving Aerogel Insulations

Spaceloft™ AR5103 aerogel insulation enables the construction of smaller, lighter and more cost effective flow and transfer lines.

The world’s ever increasing appetite for hydrocarbon based energy, and the continuing threat of supply interruptions due to geopolitical events have conspired to push the limits of technology for the production and exploration of energy. Oil wells and platforms move further and further out to sea to tap new wells, and in order to satisfy the ever escalating demand for natural gas, consuming countries are looking towards the offshore delivery of LNG to ensure safe and secure handling.

Both of these environments prevent severe engineering challenges, long pipeline systems must be large enough to deliver energy supplies in volume, and durable enough to withstand the ocean environment, yet with some freedom of mobility so that they are not torn apart by these same forces. In addition, oil typically comes out of subsea wells at temperatures significantly higher than the water temperature, and if it were to significantly cool as the result of those temperatures, pipelines would become inoperative.

In a similar fashion, but at the opposite end of the spectrum, LNG must be maintained in liquid form at cryogenic temperatures until it reaches onshore regasification terminals. This is true not only aboard tankers, but also within transfer lines as well.

Oil well lines, LNG tankers and transfer lines must be heated, super cooled or insulated to maintain product temperature, thereby insuring efficient and uninterrupted operation.

For these reasons oil well lines, LNG tankers and transfer lines must be heated, super cooled or insulated to maintain product temperature, thereby insuring efficient and uninterrupted operation. While there have been some instances of offshore oil lines that have been heat traced, by and large insulation is the preferred solution for maintaining temperature, but up until now the world has had to rely on relatively inefficient insulations that resulted in pipeline systems that were larger and more costly than they needed to be.

As shown below, Spaceloft™ AR5103 provides 2 – 4 times more thermal insulating capacity than typical insulations:

Offshore Oil Applications

The Spaceloft™ AR5103 insulation package is also easy to install.

Lower thermal conductivity means that the amount of insulation can be reduced, while at the same time improving thermal performance, resulting in smaller pipe systems with reduced costs. The reduced pipe size also means that more pipe can be loaded on ship, resulting in fewer trips to sea to complete the installation.

For example, in the typical PIP construction used for an offshore oil well, the use of Spaceloft™ AR5103 enables the outer pipe to be reduced by at least one standard pipe size without impacting the U value of the system, yet deliver substantial cost savings.

Besides improved thermal performance and reduced costs, Spaceloft™ AR5103 is also extremely hydrophobic, and will not absorb water.

LNG

The use of Spaceloft™ AR5103 can also lead to reduced costs and improved performance in LNG operations.

For example, LNG transfer lines are typically insulated with cellular glass, which is well known for its hydrophobicity. However, due to it’s relatively inefficient thermal properties, gas transfer lines are typically insulated with 6-8” of material.

As such, already large lines become even larger, and as line lengths grow from a few hundred yards to several miles as is envisioned with offshore unloading stations, the use of cellular foam becomes limiting.

It adds system weight and rigidity, which is undesirable in an ocean environment. Furthermore, while it won’t absorb water it is a somewhat brittle material, and despite being covered, water will find its way through the material to the surface of the pipe and freeze on contact.

In contrast, Spaceloft™ AR5103 is thin, flexible, lightweight and highly efficient; only 2 inches Does the same job as six inches of rigid and heavier cellular glass. In addition, Spaceloft™ AR5103 is also extremely hydrophobic, but since it is not brittle, water paths will not open up through the material.

Further, vacuum is not required to deliver the outstanding thermal conductivity of Spaceloft™ AR5103, so it maintains its flexibility, even at cryogenic temperatures, and lines don’t become rigid.

For more information, please visit the Literature Center for the Product Data Sheet and MSDS.