BASF Elastoshore® Helps Set Installed Flowline Insulation Depth Record
WYANDOTTE, MI, May 5, 2009 - BASF, the market leader in polyurethane specialties, recently collaborated with Perma-Pipe Oil and Gas, under contract to The Bayou Companies, to supply glass syntactic polyurethane (GSPU) insulation for the deepest subsea insulated flowline installed in the world to date. Perma-Pipe applied its Auto-Therm® GSPU "wet" insulation to fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) coated pipe for the recent Perdido Development installation in the Gulf of Mexico, operated by Shell. Installed up to a water depth of 9,627 feet, BASF Elastoshore® polyurethane technology was employed as part of the GSPU wet insulation to more than 15 miles of insulated flowline pipe. Elastoshore polyurethane systems use a proprietary technology that results in a finished product with excellent temperature and hydrolysis resistance with very low water absorption.
"BASF supplies 100 percent mercury-free formulations for GSPU technology worldwide," said Dr. Karl Gust, BASF Technical Market Manager. "We believe this is important in promoting environmentally friendly products and sustainability within the offshore market."
Elastoshore polyurethane technology has been used in more than 100 miles of flowline insulation currently installed in the Gulf of Mexico. The material is sourced from BASF locations in North America, keeping logistics costs low. The BASF Polyurethane Specialties division worked closely with Perma-Pipe to develop customized products that fit their process.
"Flowline coating jobs of this magnitude require a strong supply chain from the chemical manufacturer," said Hank Reuser, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Bayou Flow Technologies/Perma-Pipe Oil and Gas. "BASF delivered a high level of technical support and met a very demanding delivery schedule that was required for Perma-Pipe and Bayou to meet obligations with our clients."
Customized products from BASF enable Perma-Pipe to insulate pipe of various lengths and diameters with minimal adjustments to the process. With its process, Perma-Pipe can insulate pipe to double-jointed 80 foot lengths rather than the conventional 40 foot lengths. This can provide significant cost-containment opportunities on field joint applications.
To learn more about BASF Polyurethane systems, go to www.basf.com/pur.
For more information contact:
Bill Donnelly
BASF Corporation
Tel: (734) 324-6303
E-mail: william.donnelly@basf.com
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BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 15,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $17.5 billion in 2008.
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BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has approximately 97,000 employees and posted sales of more than 62 billion in 2008. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.
