Chesterfield business to supply rig equipment in Middle East
Chesterfield based firm Cathelco, will be providing a marine growth prevention system (MGPS) for the latest, in a series of jack-up drilling rigs, to be built by Lamprell – the United Arab Emirates based leading provider of fabrication, engineering and contracting services to the offshore and onshore oil & gas and renewable energy industries.
The order was won by Cathelco Middle East FZC based in Sharjah, which was set up in 2015 to provide sales and engineering support for customers throughout the region.
Cathelco marine growth prevention systems are designed to eliminate blockages caused by barnacles and mussels in seawater lines. The systems consist of copper and aluminium anodes which are wired to a control panel. In operation, the copper anodes produce ions which create an environment where barnacle and mussel larvae do not settle and grow. At the same time the aluminium anode produces ions which suppress corrosion on the internal surfaces of pipes.
Carlo Soddu, who has been closely involved in the project at Cathelco, says:-
“In our experience jack-up rigs benefit from installations where the MGPS anodes are installed in pipe upstands, when a seachest is not available. By using this method the copper ions are drawn directly in the flow of seawater which maximises their effectiveness. The ease of access is another important advantage enabling maintenance time to be reduced to a matter of minutes each year.”
Cathelco are world leading manufacturers of MGPS based in Chesterfield, with a record of more than 50,000 installations on commercial vessels and offshore structures over a period of 50 years.
