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Preventing the Deterioration of Critical Infrastructure for the Oil and Gas Industry

Posted on: Tuesday, 15 August 2006, 15:01 CDT

In light of recent events in Alaska, erosion-corrosion of pipelines and other critical infrastructure in the Oil and Gas Industry has become a topic of both domestic and international discussion. Investments in preventative maintenance of plant and equipment have proven paramount to enabling industry leaders to feed the growing energy demands worldwide.

Since 1952 Belzona, a UK-based manufacturer of polymer repair composites and protective coatings, has been helping industries solve their industrial repair or maintenance problems while significantly reducing downtime and extending equipment life.

Belzona's technology is an example of an innovation the public may not know about. It has developed systems to repair, maintain and protect critical infrastructure that have proven over time erosion-corrosion resistant, and able to withstand the high temperatures and pressures of the harsh offshore drilling environment. Applying such systems has proven to save the Oil and Gas industry millions by avoiding lost production, downtime and replacing parts and equipment that could easily be repaired.

Conventionally, these problems can lead to the entire system having to be shut down before the problem can be addressed, causing producers to loose valuable production capabilities at a cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars per day of down time.

"Belzona is used by the oil and gas industry worldwide because our polymer repairs are cost-effective and offer longevity, dependability and flexibility not found with conventional repairs," said David Rice, Business Development Manager -- Oil & Gas, Belzona. "We have worked with companies such as ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Saudi Aramco, Amerada Hess, Statoil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Petrobras, and more over the past two decades to help them save millions."

Among the first applications of Belzona systems for Oil & Gas infrastructure was done in 1987 for Conoco's Hutton Platform in the North Sea. This was a preventative measure which utilized a polymer coating designed to protect production separators from corrosion and pressure damage that could eventually lead to downtime.

As the Oil & Gas Industry leaders witness the costly downtime in both lost revenues and bad publicity brought on by shutdowns and other issues, preventative maintenance and repair technologies, such as those developed by Belzona, will receive increased attention from both the public and private sectors. As the industry is entering a period of increased scrutiny for everything from gas prices to environmental policies, preventive maintenance is one area that can provide major cost-savings to both the industry and consumers in the long-run.

 Media Contacts Alec J. Rosen AJR Partners Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=64D81124295814A1 +1 305 665 5755  James Mundy Belzona Inc. Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=B6021B2955994C0A +1 305 594 4994  

SOURCE: Belzona

Source: MARKET WIRE

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