JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #104 - April/May 2016 - 35

seen in figure 2.
Composites are the key for the oil and gas
industry to address some of the current
challenges. Their ability to provide strength
with flexibility, lower weight, workability in
extreme environments, high resilience and
durability makes them a preferred substitute to metals. The oil and gas giants have
started focusing on these innovative materials for their current and future projects.

100% composite materials
In April 2015, Trelleborg Offshore and
partner Landing String Solutions LLC
unveiled the world's first composite
buoyancy system deployed on a drill pipe
landing string. Patented by Landing String
Solutions LLC, the buoyancy system
manufactured by Trelleborg features 100%
composite materials - no metallic components - ensuring that no damage is caused
to the well.
The use of buoyancy on the landing string
allows the drilling contractor to deploy
larger amounts of casing, thus reducing rig
time, maximizing efficiencies and reducing
cost. The new buoyancy system is designed
to offset the landing string weight by up
to 80% in some cases and will enable safer
and more cost-effective deepwater oil and
gas operations.
Airborne Oil & Gas secured an order to
supply composite risers and jumpers to

OneSubsea. They were also chosen to
supply thermoplastic composite pipes to
IKM Testing AS for offshore downline and
pipeline. In 2015, Magma Global entered
into a joint development agreement with
BP and Subsea 7 to qualify and implement
Magma's carbon fibre m-pipe for subsea
pipelines.

Onshore energy boom
In the recent past, an unprecedented US
onshore energy boom boosted the demand
for frac balls and frac plugs, which are
used for hydraulic fracturing, often termed
"fracking". Frac plugs and frac balls are
made with composites, and thus the demand for composites in fracking increased
in the last decade. Frac plugs commonly
range from 114 to 140 mm in diameter
and 560 to 760 mm in length, whereas frac
balls typically range from 25.4 to 146 mm
in diameter.
At present, the penetration of composites
in the oil and gas industry is very low as
compared to steel. Steel is the traditional
material with a proven track record. The
most important challenge for composites
is that the oil and gas industry is risk averse
and the uptake of new materials has been
slow. Another challenge is the lack of education in the oil and gas industry about the
benefits of composites.

Fig. 2: Growth opportunities for composites in the
oil and gas industry (Source: Lucintel)

Growth and profit
To capture the future growth and draw
profit from these challenges, oil and gas
companies, part fabricators, and material suppliers cannot simply turn to their
traditional toolbox. They need to review
the opportunities and adjust their strategic
priorities, deploy the appropriate investments and resources, and develop new
skills and technologies to achieve these
strategic objectives.
Overall, Lucintel is optimistic about the
composites opportunity in the oil and
gas industry for 2016 and beyond. If all
the major players in the industry, such as
researchers, suppliers, and manufacturers,
work together, the future will be bright for
composites. n
More information:
www.lucintel.com

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Glass
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No104 April - May 2016 / jec

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18 May 2016

composites magazine 35

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #104 - April/May 2016