First ProTek Installations at Hammerfest
14 August 2006
In the last weeks the first ProTek™ composite fire and blast protection enclosures have been installed at the Statoil's Snøhvit LNG plant in Melkøya Hammerfest. By November 2006 all 116 ProTek™ enclosures will be completed in readiness for the planned start up of the plant.
The ProTek™ passive fire and blast restraint system was designed and manufactured by Solent Composite Systems Ltd (SCS) based on the Isle of Wight. SCS was selected by Statoil and contractor Aker Stord to supply the ProTek™ enclosures for emergency shutdown valve and actuator protection based on many years proven experience in the North Sea.
The Snøhvit Melkøya plant located in the arduous climate of the Barents Sea is Europe's first export facility for liquefied natural gas. The facility deploys leading edge technology so it was not surprising to see why Statoil selected ProTek™ with its successful track record in offshore installations. SCS also recently supplied a ProTek™ design for ESDV with riser hang-off protection for Statoils's Norne installation and similar units on Åsgard A and Åsgard B.
At Melkøya ProTek™ enclosure are largely used in the protection of emergency shut down valves (ESDV) and actuators, which must remain functional under all circumstances including the most severe jet fire and blast conditions. In addition they must withstand the rigours of the severe arctic winter. In selecting ProTek™, Statoil and Aker Stord recognised the life-cost advantages over traditionally used soft jackets. In addition the installation is very quick and easy - extremely important in these days of labour shortage.
ProTek™ is manufactured from an advanced composite panel system which is lightweight and has wide design versatility. Being virtually inert, there is zero corrosion risk and outstanding weather resistance, thus offering a maintenance free life for at least 30 years, with no pollution risk. The fire performance is certified by Lloyds and DNV and will withstand a two hour jet fire test at 0.3 kg /sec gas release, and blast tests up to 1.5 barg.
In addition to ESDV/actuator protection ProTek™ is used for fire and blast walls, marine fire partitions, underdeck/splashzone and flexible riser passive fire protection as well sub-sea structures and encapsulations. ProTek™ meets all current standards for fire and blast protection and recently also passed the Norsok noise attenuation test at a figure in excess of 30DB.
When Managing Director Huw Radley acquired the business early in 2004 he commented that buying the assets of an existing company is much more than hardware, and in the SCS case is largely is valued on the intellectual property and know-how that enables it to take on major projects and take them thorough
to timely and cost effective completion. This approach and the resulting Hammerfest success story comes from the company's long heritage in serving the highly demanding Offshore Oil and Gas industry where quality, health & safety and criteria are second to none.
