Aubin Group, Flexlife Cooperate on Oil and Gas IM Solutions

Offshore chemical engineering specialist Aubin Group has formed a co-operation agreement with subsea flexible pipe specialist Flexlife to create an industry first in subsea integrity management (IM).

Aubin Integrity, a division of Aubin Group, and Flexlife are working together to provide full-service IM solutions to the oil and gas industry.

Under the co-operation, Aubin Integrity will supply its development team to create bespoke products and provide offshore personnel for operations. Flexlife will bring its subsea engineering and project management expertise to ensure quality deployment for all applications.

The two companies have a history of working together to create bespoke products and services. This includes collaborating on a number of projects to help mitigate corrosion in hard to access areas around the critical splash zone region of offshore platforms where the seawater and air interface can lead to integrity issues. These projects serve to maximise the remnant life of risers and can defer or obviate the major capital expenditure which would be required if the degraded risers had to be replaced.

The co-operation has also developed a range of pipeline isolation polymers which have been used to address major integrity issues within the substructure of an offshore platform in the UKCS. The companies worked together to create an internal pipework sealant, AXI-Lokk, and the delivery process, in record time to enable repair intervention following a serious breach in integrity.

Serena Arif, Subsea Director of Aubin Group, said: “This co-operation marks a milestone for both companies, as we will be able to take on a wider scope of projects by sharing our innovative and specialised services. By entering into this, we are launching a new service to the oil industry, providing all areas of an IM project from start to finish.

“Aubin Group and Flexlife have a long-standing professional relationship, and we look forward to furthering that with this agreement, which will provide a much-needed service offering within the energy industry.”

Able to provide full-circle Integrity Management services, Aubin Integrity and Flexlife specialise in providing solutions for subsea projects, on- and offshore operations, corrosion mitigation and plugs for temporary or permanent solutions.

Ciaran O’Donnell, Flexlife CEO, said: “We are delighted to be working with Aubin Integrity and have already demonstrated successful deployment of our joint IM solutions to meet the needs of our customers. As well as Flexlife offering technology, which will identify corrosion, our co-operation with Aubin Integrity has enabled us to develop solutions for instances when infrastructure has been damaged or integrity is in question. With the ageing assets here in the North Sea and globally we are seeing a real demand for our IM solutions now and in the future.”

In addition to AXI-Lokk, Aubin Integrity has developed a suite of products to tackle complex IM challenges including AXI-Cast, a sealant product that has been successfully deployed offshore West Africa, and AXI-Gard, a corrosion mitigation and plugging product. It has also created AXI-Bind, a flexible sealing gel that complements Flexlife’s repair product line.

Aubin Group will be exhibiting its IM products, including AXI-Lokk, at Subsea Expo, being held 5-7 February at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, on Stand 73. Aubin Integrity will present on its line of products at the exhibition on 6 February from 11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

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Press Release, February 05, 2014