Groundbreaking advances in offshore pipelay: Denso's Viscotaq™ Offshore Field Joint Coating System

The choice of Denso's Viscotaq™ has demonstrated that a cold-applied FJC system can be safe, efficient, robust, and effective while significantly reducing specialist equipment and manpower

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In June 2024, a Malaysia-based oil and gas exploration and production company embarked on an ambitious offshore pipelay campaign aimed at developing three offshore gas fields in Southeast Asia. Executed by a renowned global Offshore Installation Contractor (OIC), the project entailed the construction of two new sour-rated carbon steel pipelines, including risers and subsea spools. These pipelines included an 18 km run of 254mm (10") diameter pipe and a 22 km run of 304.8mm (12") diameter pipe, both designed to operate at a temperature of 109° Celsius.

Project overview

For this challenging project, the team selected a state-of-the-art global offshore installation DP3 pipelay barge capable of performing Slay operations with up to 1,524mm diameter (60") pipelines. This campaign was the first time the offshore installation contractor used a cold applied field joint coating system, specifically the innovative Viscotaq™ Offshore Field Joint Coating (OFJC) system. For this project, the Viscotaq OFJC system was comprised of four layers: ViscoWrap™ XHT, Viscotaq™ PE Outerwrap, Denso™ Glass Outerwrap, and Denso Rockmesh™.

ViscoWrap XHT: is comprised of a viscoelastic adhesive compound, reinforced with an HDPE mesh and backed with a PE film. It provides the corrosion protection layer of the Viscotaq OFJC system.

Viscotaq PE Outerwrap: is comprised of a polyethylene tape coated with an adhesive layer. It provides circumferential compression to the corrosion protection layer of the Viscotaq OFJC system.