Philip Medlicott has been involved in a number of composite applications
used in the offshore oil and gas industry. Typical established and emerging polymer composite applications
for offshore and onshore include:
- Topsides Modules, Fire and blast walls
- Walkways, Access structures, Ladders, Lifting arms
- Pump riser column, Caissons
- Firewater piping, Deluge piping, Produced water piping, Service water piping
- Tanks and vessels
Subsea applications include:
- Flexibles with composite armour wires, deepwater Production and Drilling
Risers, composite Tethers
- Subsea Protection Structures for
valves and wellheads, Mud mats, Buoyancy modules/cans
Flowline and tubing applications include:
- GRP tubing, FRP casing, FRP lined steel tubing,
composite drillpipe
- Spoolable umbilicals and coiled tubing,
In addition, polymer composite materials are used to strengthen or repair
steel structures, piping, vessels and tanks as an alternative to
replacement. Large cost savings are possible because the technology enables
a significant reduction or even elimination of platform shutdown and
avoidance of hot work.
Although composite materials have been around for a long time there is still resistance to their application
within the oil industry. This is due to incomplete:
- performance data
- engineering documentation
- education about handling and installation of these materials
These have provided the focus of much of Philip Medlicott's
activities as discussed below.
Specifications and standards
Engineering Specification and Standards provide an important tool
for increasing the acceptability of composite materials by design
and fabrication contractors for use in demanding engineering
applications.
Philip Medlicott has developed a
comprehensive specification of the use of GRP gratings for an
offshore oil industry operator. The specifiation, which
addresses procurement and component qualification, installation and
operations has been in used since 2008.
Other past activities include:
- ISO 14692:2002
covering Specifications and Recommended Practices for the use of GRP
Piping in the oil and natural gas industries.
- ISO 21329, which describes test procedures for the use of
mechanical connectors installed in subsea pipelines was drafted on
behalf of Trevor Jee Associates
This became a published ISO standard at the end of 2004.
Documentation studies and reviews
These enable clients to collate and disseminate information about
technological advances and cost benefits of the use of composite
materials and applications within their organization. These cover a
wide range of applications including GRP piping, gratings, access
structures, downhole tubing, caissons, and composite repair
technologies.
An important aspect is clarification of the performance
capability and requirements of composite materials early in the
project cycle. The main performance parameter are:
- Fire
- Static electricity
- Chemical resistance
- Impact and damage tolerance
Testing of materials and components
Philip Medlicott was project manager of the
OSIUK FRP liner
JIP (Joint Industry Programme), a Research and Development
programmes for developing the methodology for qualifying FRP liner
materials for use in downhole tubing and flowlines, that was
completed at the end of 2003. The results of this work were presented at the
CMOO4
conference.
He has also prepared and organised test programmes concerned with obtaining performance data that could be used to help develop
acceptance criteria for:
- chemical and abrasion wear
resistance of composites for hight temperature corrosive
applications
- static electricity properties of GRP pipes as required for
ISO 14692
- static load and impact properties of GRP grating
- static load and fatigue properties for long span composite caissons
to withstand North Sea conditions (see right)
