Neptune Advanced Subsea Flow Assurance Insulation System Named “Best Production Technology” of 2012.
The winner of the 2012 World Oil Award for Best Production Technology is a breakthrough in subsea insulation developed by Dow Oil & Gas, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), in cooperation with multiple organizations, including Trelleborg Offshore, a leading provider of polymer and syntactic foam-based coating solutions for the offshore oil and gas industry. The breakthrough technology, known as the Neptune Advanced Subsea Flow Assurance Insulation System, offers the widest end-to-end use-temperature range of any complete wet insulation system on the market.
The World Oil Awards were established 11 years ago to put a spotlight on leading innovators and accomplishments in the oil and gas industry. This year’s awards paid tribute to "Innovations for the Future," and winners were named in 16 different categories. The Neptune Advanced Subsea Flow Assurance Insulation System was nominated for Best Production Technology by Trelleborg Offshore, a key application partner in the development of the Neptune C Insulation Coating, the advanced subsea flow assurance insulation suitable for custom coating of subsea architecture.
“We are thrilled that Neptune Advanced Subsea Flow Assurance Insulation System has won this year’s World Oil Award for Best Production Technology,” said Alex Lane, Dow Oil & Gas Business Segment Leader for Oil & Gas Transmission. “We developed the Neptune System in direct response to requests from offshore operators who seek subsea pipeline flow assurance under increasingly harsh conditions of temperature and pressure. Receiving this recognition is a rewarding confirmation that the technology we developed is a genuine breakthrough for oil and gas production worldwide. It is also recognition of the significant milestones that can be achieved through the collaborative efforts of Dow and industry respected applicators, such as Trelleborg.”
“Neptune C Advanced Flow Assurance Insulation was developed with the customer front of mind and delivers proven performance for critical thermal insulation installations,” said Dave Williams, Materials Development Manager at Trelleborg. “It is truly a breakthrough innovation, and we knew we had to nominate it for this prestigious award. Actually winning the award is the icing on the cake and a true testament to the dedication and leading industry know-how of everyone involved on both teams.”
With components designed for line pipe, field joint and subsea architecture, the complete Neptune Advanced Subsea Flow Assurance Insulation System protects assets from well head to delivery point during installation and use at temperatures of -40ºC to 160ºC (-40°F to 320°F) and at depths of up to 13,123 feet / 4,000 meters. The simple, two-layer system for line pipe includes an underlay of Neptune High Temperature Fusion Bonded Epoxy (FBE) for corrosion protection and an overlay of Neptune Advanced Hybrid Polyether Thermoset Insulation for pipeline flow assurance. The FBE is based on proprietary Dow resin technology, and the hybrid polyether thermoset is a completely new insulation technology developed by Dow to impart robust flow assurance in the increasingly harsh conditions experienced during subsea oil production. The complete Neptune System has passed a battery of rigorous qualification tests, including small- and production-scale trials employing extreme testing procedures to validate compressive strength, durability, and thermal performance.