The oil and gas sector remains one of the most demanding markets for product suppliers due to stringent health and safety measures, harsh operating conditions and high client expectations. However, it remains fertile territory for firms looking to drive innovation as oil and gas operators search for more effective ways to extract larger and harder to reach oil and gas reserves. Roxtec UK marine and offshore manager Richard Keith explains how his firm is using its broad experience within the oil and gas sector to develop new products and services to continue raising the bar.
Roxtec has supplied cable sealing solutions to the oil and gas sectors internationally for many years. During that time the firm has gained accreditation by FPAL (First Point Assessment) to work in the UK North Sea and has subscribed to the UK Continental Shelf Oil and Gas industry Supply Chain Code of Practice which is administered by the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Roxtec’s UK work has included supplying seals for the refurbishment of a gas testing laboratory for Total SA at its St Fergus Gas Terminal near Aberdeen. The firm has further supplied Ensco plc, a global offshore drilling specialist, with multi-cable transits used to upgrade offshore drilling rigs in the North Sea to protect against jet fire, flooding and explosion.
Further afield Roxtec has worked to supply Australia’s biggest gas project, the Chevron operated Gorgon Project, on Barrow Island, Western Australia, delivering cable penetration seals with built in electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) to protect the plant’s electrical systems. Meanwhile the firm was contracted by Agip, to supply products to one of the world’s largest oil fields – the Kashagan project off the coast of Kazakhstan and has supplied semi-submersible drilling rigs being built for the offshore specialist SeaDragon.
Industry calls – ‘High Density’ cable seal 
Through our extensive work in the oil and gas marketplace we have known for some time that industry has been calling for a cable transit device which can significantly reduce the quantity, size and weight of cable sealing systems. Our R&D department recently developed a solution in the form of a ‘High Density’ cable seal.
The effective protection of electrical equipment in heavy industrial and hazardous environments is a major engineering challenge. However, there remains increasing demand for solutions which provide environmental protection in the harshest of environments including potentially explosive atmospheres.
Aside from providing environmental protection, the ‘High Density’ seal helps designers and installers save time, space and money.
The sealing system has been developed to accommodate up to 32 cables, with the ability to feed multiple cables into one opening. This can save large amounts of time as only one hole needs to be cut. The solution is also a cost saver as it dramatically reduces labour and production overheads compared to installing 32 separate traditional cable glands. Tests have further shown that the Roxtec HD solution can create weight savings of up to 50pc and can increase cable capacity by almost twice as much when compared to traditional cable glands.
The sealing system can be used across a broad variety of equipment from terminal boxes and enclosures to marshalling cabinets, junction boxes, fieldbus boxes and control systems. It has also been designed to meet key requirements of tightness, retention and corrosion resistance, and provides efficient environmental protection for electrical equipment.
We believe this product will be of particular interest to the oil and gas industry due to its ability to withstand potentially explosive atmospheres. It can be used for many different cable types such as smooth, corrugated, armoured and non-armoured within non-hazardous locations such as industrial settings.
Roxtec Services – North Sea Offshore inspection, maintenance and training
Roxtec also recently launched a new company called Roxtec Services targeting North Sea marine and offshore markets. This was developed following sustained demand for safety inspection on naval ships, drilling rigs, FPSOs (Floating Production Storage and Offloading anchored vessels) and oil and gas offshore assets. There is also a subsidiary established focusing on the North American market.
Three main services are on offer: inspection services, maintenance and supervision, which will all meet the highest worldwide standards.
The decision behind launching Roxtec Services stems from the demand from operators to improve safety on their assets, which has led the inspection of some 50,000 multi-cable transits in the last 12 months. Roxtec is looking to service marine vessels and offshore units. The reason it is so important is that operators and duty holders must prove they are maintaining performance and meeting safety requirements from the classification societies governing the territory.
Many assets in the UK North Sea were built in the 1970s and 80s and have undergone upgrades which required changes to cable and pipe sealing. Operators can suddenly find their rig or vessel is not protected against fire, gas and water according to the regulations.
Roxtec Services will ensure that clients’ projects are fully compliant with international safety regulations pertaining to the use and maintenance of multi-cable transits. Our inspections will be able to assess if transits meet safety standards set by ABS, Lloyds, DNV GL and IMO.
For more information on the Roxtec HD seal visit www.roxtec.com/hd
For more information about Roxtec Services visit www.roxtecservices.com
For more details, contact Roxtec UK at Waterfold Business Park, Bury Tel: 0161 761 5280 Email info@uk.roxtec.com or go online at: www.roxtec.com