Machinable material helps offshore exploration

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 18, 2005

Sercel Europe has used Ertacetal from Quadrant EPP to construct thousands of oil filler blocks for its new seismic streamer.

As world oil consumption continues to accelerate, offshore exploration has become increasingly essential for production companies who wish to keep pace with demand.

The demands of this business climate have put particular pressure on ocean survey technology to deliver greater sensitivity and faster results.

The search for these qualities led a worldwide seismic acquisition leader, Sercel Europe, to select Ertacetal from Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products (Quadrant EPP), a leading global manufacturer of plastic stockshapes (rods, plates and tubes) for machining.

Used to construct thousands of oil filler blocks for Sercel's new seismic streamer, Quadrant EPP's highly machinable Ertacetal material helped deliver complex geometries, high chemical resistance and low specific weight.

The result was a strong, flexible streamer able to map the seabed more quickly and with greater sensitivity.

Sercel's streamer measures 12km in length with oil filler blocks placed every 3m.

Each block acts as a valve mechanism that helps to pump ballast - a mixture of kerosene and glycerine - to certain segments of the streamer cable.

This enables shipboard controls to raise and lower individual segments over the seabed.

In addition to ensuring the streamer floats at the correct depths, blocks constructed from Ertacetal serve as bulkheads, breaking the internal tube down into multiple short sections.

This design helped dampen the influence of wave action on seismic readings.

In addition to good dimensional stability and consistent specific gravity, Ertacetal stock shapes met several other critical properties for Sercel's application.

Made from highly machinable acetal resin, the blocks demonstrated low moisture uptake allowing for prolonged exposure to sea water.

Also, the material is chemically resistant to the streamer's kerosene/glycerine ballast.

Typically, a vessel drags five 12km-long streamers.

With an oil block placed every three meters, Ertacetal stock shapes provided a comparatively cost-effective solution.

Materials and parts targeting in this and other oil- and gas-field applications often must maintain high standards of performance despite exposure to extreme pressure, high temperatures and corrosive chemicals.

Quadrant EPP's broad selection of engineering plastics can help meet these challenges, and offer additional performance options including excellent wear resistance, electrical insulation and low weight.

In addition to its high-performance materials portfolio Quadrant EPP offers equipment manufacturers, machinists and other customers superb technical expertise and service to help them find the optimal material for their part design.

Quadrant EPP will be among the exhibiters at Offshore Europe 2005, which runs from 6th to 9th September at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, Scotland.

Show visitors interested in learning more about Quadrant EPP and its portfolio of plastic rods, plates and tubes for machining are invited to join the company on Stand 1249.