December 2009 Vol. 236 No. 12

Projects

Unique Pipe Repair Completed Off Thailand

Neptune Research Inc. (NRI) has invented a method to repair damaged pipelines which company officials say diverted a potentially disastrous economic meltdown.

NRI said the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) was forced to close its largest offshore pipeline that fuels the nation’s power plants. The shutdown reportedly could have exceeded US$3 million a day.

Replacing the pipeline would have been a major undertaking requiring months because h0eavy equipment would have to be mobilized offshore. Instead, PTT called NRI, hoping its Syntho-Glass® XT, a pre-impregnated, bi-directional fiberglass composite pipe repair system designed to repair and reinforce internal and external corrosion damage without shutdowns, could work.

NRI says the repair quickly seals broken pipes so that the repair becomes stronger than the original carbon steel piping. NRI sent Ryan Schwarz, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, with 250 rolls of Syntho-Glass XT. In less than 36 hours, Schwarz fixed a pipeline that could have taken months.

“The process was simple,” says Schwartz. “We first filled the corrosion with SubSea Epoxy and then wrapped the Syntho-Glass XT around the damaged pipe. Twenty-four hours later the pipe was stronger and Thailand was back in business.”