Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, and Airborne Oil & Gas B.V., a leading, global supplier of spoolable thermoplastic composite pipe systems for deepwater offshore operations, signed a strategic supply agreement for the development and supply of composite materials for these pipe systems.

This multi-year alliance promises to further improve materials, systems and solutions that will meet the oil and gas industry requirements for harsh deepwater operations. Together, Airborne, with its expertise in offshore thermoplastic composite pipe systems, and Celanese, a leading global producer of high-performance thermoplastic composites, will be able to drive the development of the right material solutions. This strategic alliance is an important milestone in achieving a robust supply chain, ready for scaling up.

Celanese already provides engineered materials used in thermoplastic composite pipe. An example is the flexible pipeline system from Airborne that incorporates Celstran CFR-TP (continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic) composite technologies, which are suitable for use in flowlines, downlines, jumpers, intervention lines, risers and other offshore pipe systems.

The durable, spoolable, lightweight composite pipe systems designed and manufactured by Airborne have high mechanical strength to withstand the extremely high pressures and tensile loads of deep-sea offshore operations and combine an excellent chemical stability with very good resistance to fatigue, aging and permeation.

The composite systems are more robust than existing pipe systems used in the offshore industry and reduce operational cost because of faster and easier deployment. The absence of corrosion reduces maintenance costs and the smooth inner bore improves the pressure performance. These pipes are made in a fully automated manufacturing process and can be made up to several kilometers of length in one product. This unique technology has won several innovation awards, including the JEC Europe 2012 Innovation Award.

Celstran CFR-TP offers the widest range of matrix materials available in the composites industry and numerous reinforcing fiber options. These composites can be tailored to meet specific dimensional and application requirements for robust, lightweight and corrosion resistant parts.