Permanent composite repairs alliance forged by Furmanite and DML

By the OGJ Online Staff

LONDON, May 11--Kaneb Co.'s UK pipe repair company Furmanite and composite materials specialist DML Composites, a unit of Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd., plan an alliance targeting the permanent repair of pipes, pipelines, and vessels.

FD Alliance will couple Furmanite's range of onsite, online repair and maintenance services with DML's expertise in composite materials technology for the oil and gas industry.

Composite materials can repair pipe without disrupting production. Furmanite reported that extrapolated figures suggest more than 1,100 repairs using composite materials in the North Sea in 1999. The materials can be applied to hard-to-access areas.

Under the FD Alliance banner, the two companies carried out composite repairs to an extensive section of heavily corroded pipe on Shell UK Exploration and Production's Dunlin Alpha platform in the North Sea in April.

Repairs involved two 24-in seawater headers and a 12-in firewater main that were externally corroded. The work was completed in 33 days without stopping production. Other repair methods would have required a 3-week shutdown.

FD Alliance will be formally launched next month, followed by a 6-12 month worldwide rollout program.