Weathering the storm

The thin layer of paint adorned on offshore platforms is the first line of defence against Mother Nature’s (and man’s) fury, protecting the hugely expensive structures like a shielding blanket.

For the customer, the cost of protecting the offshore capital infrastructure cannot be compromised by a poor standard product, and with production found in increasingly remote locations the coating must have assured quality and an extensive lifespan.

Added to this they need to provide a safe environment for those who live on the offshore structures, providing non-skid surfaces to walk, high visibility signs, fire resistance and other safety providing properties.

And for the manufacturer? They must ensure via extensive R&D that their products can withstand the extremely harsh environments found offshore, and that they will protect the rigs without the need for maintenance. On top of this they need to make sure they can deliver this at a reasonable price and with a reduced environmental impact.

The Middle East accounts for roughly 5% of the world’s coatings market according to industry consensus. As well as the construction boom in the region, the demand in the oil and gas industry has led to massive increases in the amount of paint consumption.

For example, Saudi Arabia expects to consume somewhere in the region of 1,600,000 metric tonnes per annum by 2010, larger than some of Europe’s biggest markets, and the UAE has seen double digit growth in the past few years.

One of the leading manufacturers of paints in the region is the Norwegian multinational Jotun, who have capitalised on the massive expansion in construction and industry in the Middle East.

The company has much experience with the harsh environments found offshore, having protected thousands of offshore structures over the past 25 years. Anthony Wong, global sales director, Jotun Offshore, spoke to Oil and Gas about some of the current issues in the offshore coatings market.

“The high oil prices are encouraging production acceleration, making equipment, raw materials, construction capacity and labour scare and expensive. This then leads to increased demand for products and services from supporting industries, including the offshore protective coatings industry,” said Wong.

“Jotun Coatings’ positive trend continued in 2007 in every segment we are active in, and demand for Jotun protective coatings solutions remain high, fuelled by increased construction of mega projects and facilities related to oil and gas industry, especially in Asia and Middle East,” he added.

“Large investments in increasing production and petrochemical plants projects over the past years have increased demand for protective coatings throughout the Middle-East region.

The U.A.E has also developed into an active offshore rig building market because of the saturation of other established rig building locations, such as Korea and Singapore,” Wong went on to say.

The recent trend for the actual coatings used has been demand for longer lasting and more arduous applications. “With offshore locations you will have very high humidity and salt concentrations, which are accelerating rates of corrosion tremendously, so the coatings you need to apply if you’re going to have a long term performance need to be tested and resistant to this type of environment,” said Arno Meister, general manager for Sigma Paints UAE.

“The other consideration in the Middle East is the high ratio of UV light, which is one of things that can degrade the binder of the coating fairly quickly if you don’t choose the right type and right quality,” he added.

Sigma Paints, as well as competitors such as Nukote, International, Hempel and Jotun, to name a few, specialise in providing the protective coatings made to withstand the tough tests thrown at them by offshore environments. Their contracts are with all the major IOCs and NOCs operating in the region, so demand is fierce, and raw material cost increases also are an issue.
 

“Coatings suppliers need to keep up with the increasing orders and the rising prices of raw materials, and another challenge is to get the oil and gas sector to shift into new technologies.

Most construction chemicals fail in this region because it is one of the harshest regions in the world, which combines heat, the aggressive environment as well as marine, so you do need coatings that can withstand such abuse,” said Nabil Al-Kilany, general manger for Nukote Coatings Middle East.

Nukote specialise in providing polymer based coatings which are solvent-free, making them particularly strong and durable. But does this mean more expensive for the customer? “Yes they are more expensive, but if you compare the whole economic value compared with solvent based products it becomes more cost effective, because these products you can apply at speed as they dry much faster.

At the same time you use them at lower thicknesses than other coatings, for example one millimetre of polymer paint would be equivalent to two or three millimetres of the conventional technologies available and they are much higher than existing products for strength, durability or physical properties in general,” explained Al-Kilany.

Likewise, Sigma’s new Novaguard coatings which are solvent-free, although they are the most expensive, are essentially cost-effective due to the benefits of strength, durability and film thickness.

“In general you can apply higher film thickness with solvent free coatings, and you get better protection. But you also get a better spreading rate out of your coating, because normally if you buy 1 litre of paint with 49% or 50% solvent, this evaporates and you get a lower film thickness, this does not happen with a solvent-free coating so the price per litre is higher,” Meister said.

It is important for an oil and gas industry concerned with maximum efficiency and health and safety standards, not to cut corners when it comes to coating selection.

“The cost of paint is often relatively small in project terms, maybe only 1 or 2%. Should a lower cost system fail prematurely the cost of repair, especially if production or Health and Safety are affected, can be significant,” said John Snedden, protective coatings manager, International Paints Gulf.

According to Snedden, to ensure this does not occur the contractors must ensure that the surface has been prepared correctly, the right coating system is used and the application of the product has been done to exact specifications, “with all these parameters correctly selected and implemented coating systems have been shown to last for 15 years plus, requiring only limited aesthetic and mechanical damage repairs,” said Snedden.

His thoughts were echoed by Meister, who believes that keeping maintenance down is essential, as many rigs will either be in an isolated location or will be required to move to another site.

“In general what they want is long term protection with the lowest possible maintenance cost. Normally you go for protection which is for as long as possible, but there is no design life for 10, 15 or 20 years because nobody knows what the rig will do and how long she will be in the same place, so in general they go for a long term specification,” he said.

“The real benefits in savings for owners are systems which basically are long lasting. The application of paint is a relatively expensive step, so maintenance and repair is expensive.

If you apply a system that will last longer there is a huge benefit to the customer in savings on maintenance and life service costs. So selecting the right system and ensuring it is applied properly will give it the longest performance life, which is critical,” added Meister.

Jotun’s Anthony Wong agrees, stating that the way to get cost efficiency is to get a long life product. “An advanced and high quality coatings system may be higher in cost in the initial period but the longer corrosion protection will result in the savings for the customer.

In addition, what is equally important is the application of the coatings system. The technical service team plays a critical role in working with both the owners and applicators in ensuring the coating system is applied correctly,” said Wong.
 

The application of the paint according to the experts is almost as important as the paint itself, and if done incorrectly can considerably shorten the lifespan of the product.

“If someone buys our product from one of our distributors and does not know how to apply it, they will end up with a product which deteriorates much quicker as the application process is of crucial importance.

The customers should be concerned that technology which is relatively new to them requires specialist people to apply it, and these sorts of technical people we are training here. We are really building a strong network of applicators who can apply these products correctly to avoid problems,” said Al-Kilany.

The composition of the product is also extremely important, for the health and safety of those on board the platforms and vessels, but also for the environment.

“There is an increasing focus on long term protection and health and safety. From an HSE standpoint a supplier that can provide accredited and field tested fire protection coupled with a strong emphasis on HSE – not just meeting national standards, but pushing the boundaries – is what we aim to provide,” said Snedden.

AkzoNobel, the parent company of International Paint, has a strong ethos and track record when it comes to HSE and sustainability, and tops the prestigious Dow Jones sustainability list in the chemical industry.

“International takes a very progressive approach to the chemicals we use, for example we unilaterally took a decision to remove coal tar epoxies from our range back in 2005. Another major initiative has been in the use of biocide free foul release coatings, and we supply coatings free from lead, chromium, cadmium or tin or other hazardous metals including colour pigments,” beamed Snedden.

Although existing legislation on the compounds that make up the products supplied in the region are scarce, most of the company follow European or American guidelines in providing the safest products possible.

“In Europe and the US you see the demand for the environmentally friendly products more so than the Middle East, in the ME in general it is the bigger IOCs that are demanding these types of products, but it is increasing. This is partly because of the environmental reasons, but also the quality of these products tends to be much better,” said Meister.

Some of the standards that the manufacturers themselves adhere to, in terms of quality and environmental impact, are ISO, NORSOK, NACE and SSPC, among others. “What you see worldwide is a shift to banning heavy metals – lead is already banned and there are more coming, like tin for instance. But most of the regulations depend country by country.

The oil companies are following European legislation and the bigger owners from ships follow normally the world regulations, but locally there is little legislation,” commented Meister.

It seems that thankfully, despite the lack of local regulation, the desire for a more arduous and cost effective coating, and the need for more environmentally friendly and solvent-free based paints, are essentially complementing each other as the two go hand-in-hand.

Although the initial cost for the customer may be more, the long-term benefits of the latest solvent-free products outweigh this, and when you are dealing with the rugged offshore environment, it’s best to go for the toughest product you can get your hands on.