GE Oil & Gas to offer new and timesaving riser connectors
GE Oil & Gas is investing in the development of new completion and workover riser connectors for the offshore market, which will enable operators to save valuable rig time during operations.
GE Oil & Gas awarded Subsea Riser Products (SRP), an Acteon company, a contract to develop and qualify SRP’s Nimway 510 and Nimway 710 completion and workover riser connectors, which are designed for water depths of up to 3,000 m.
Nimway is a new design of high-capacity, quick-make-up connector involving proven technologies and a novel tensioned sleeve design that has evolved from SRP’s experience in designing high-pressure dynamic flanges. Reliable metal sealing and dual bore capability are two of the connector’s system architecture benefits.
GE Oil & Gas has obtained exclusive rights to SRP’s 5 ¼-in. and 7 ⅜-in. 10,000-psi connectors for at least two years, with the option to extend annually.
Carl Roemmele, WellAccess Leader of GE Oil & Gas, said: “The Nimway connector work is a vital piece of the Subsea WellAccess portfolio that will differentiate GE’s offering in terms of code compliance, operational running speeds and costs. When we add it to the other WellAccess products we are developing, we will have a technically differentiated product line that shall be a compelling offer for our global customers.”
SRP is currently putting the new connectors through a qualification program, which involves manufacturing the connectors, welding them to production-grade pipe and then testing their endurance using hydrostatic pressure, bending and resonant fatigue tests. The qualification program will be complete by Q1 2016.
The design and machining work for the contract will be done in the UK, with forgings procured from Italy. The qualification testing work will be completed primarily in Houston.
