Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) has announced that it has signed a contract with Unique Wellube for the supply and engineering of seal plugs for a pipeline project offshore Abu Dhabi
Unique Wellube is a division of UAE-based Unique Maritime Group (UMG), which is a provider of subsea and offshore solutions.
ADMA-OPCO said in a statement that at its Umm Shaif Supercomplex in Abu Dhabi an eight-inch subsea riser was found to have some damages, which required a weld repair.
Umm Shaif Supercomplex is an oil and gas production site of ADMA-OPCO where crude oil is collected and transported to Das Island, UAE.
The company’s initial plan was to pig the riser. However, the estimated cost to execute pigging was comparatively high and was expected to take more time, making the riser non-functional for the duration. Thus, a contract was signed with Unique Wellube to look for a cost effective and quick turnaround solution for the eight-inch subsea riser problem, added the statement.
Qais H. Al-Hashimi, major maintenance team leader of ADMA-OPCO, said, “Unique Wellube designed and manufactured an eight-inch seal plug for the subsea riser, which created a barrier to prevent the trapped residual fumes in the pipeline from coming in contact with the welding work.”
The seal plug was first tested successfully in-house at Unique Wellube’s Hamriyah Free Zone facility. Following the successful trials, the extended seal plug was approved for use by ADMA-OPCO.
Sahil Gandhi, managing director of Unique Wellube, said, “We are extremely pleased with the successful outcome of the project due to the use of our extended seal plugs. Our seal plugs have set up a benchmark for offshore weld repair jobs. The entire team of Unique Wellube is proud to be a part of this innovative development.”
