TRELLEBORG has signed and finalised an agreement, which will see its Trelleborg Industrial Solutions business area acquire cutting-edge cryogenic hose system technology from SBM Offshore, a leader in floating production and mooring systems.
It will also enable Trelleborg to accelerate and strengthen its offering in the supply of innovative and critical equipment for the growing floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) market, according to the company’s press release.
Mikael Fryklund, President of the Trelleborg Industrial Solutions business area, says, “An increasingly popular choice in the offshore oil and gas sector, FLNG vessels are a cost effective and flexible solution for commercialising new gas discoveries in remote deep-water locations. However, conditions of current FLNG locations are quite mild and only require the use of the most straightforward technology. As such, there are minimal qualified solutions for LNG offloading available, especially in harsh environments.
“As a business, we are committed to investing in technology, which has a strong market potential and good future profitability. The acquisition of SBMs cryogenic hose system technology bolsters our technological offering and strengthens our existing portfolio within offshore offloading. Furthermore, it will complement Trelleborg’s existing LNG hose development program and further accelerate our emerging offloading LNG hose system, which are expected to go to market next year,” says Fryklund.
In lieu of the deal, Trelleborg has acquired the full manufacturing line for production and testing, patents, qualification and type approval for cryogenic offshore offloading and loading hose systems. SBM Offshore and Trelleborg have undertaken rigorous tests and achieved demanding qualifications.
Michael Wyllie, Chief Technology Officer of SBM Offshore, says, “We are delighted to announce the transfer of our innovative COOL™ hose technology to Trelleborg and we are convinced that its integration into Trelleborg’s Cryoline solution results in the most advanced tandem FLNG offloading system on the market today. We look forward to further cooperation with Trelleborg in this field.”
Highlighting its dedication to innovative polymer engineering in the offshore oil and gas sector, Trelleborg has already begun to utilize this technology and teamed up with two leading oil and gas industry players, including SAIPEM, to develop a new LNG tandem offloading system.
Launched at OTC 2013, this new system is derived from existing and proven technologies and is set to become a key component in offloading systems for future offshore FLNG projects. By enabling offshore transfer of LNG in tandem configuration, the cryogenic floating hose from Trelleborg will pioneer a step change in the safety of this critical operation. This innovative system will also allow FLNG projects to be considered in harsher conditions, without excessive downtime due to offloading system availability, and with significantly reduced risk.
Meanwhile, Trelleborg is also developing a cooling seawater suction hose system, also for the FLNG market. While both of these hose systems are expected to go to market in 2014, the technologies are already part of future LNG project proposals.