Sapa in new offshore application

A lot of aluminium extrusions from Sapa are used offshore. System 2000 Group in England has just developed an extrusion-based application that protects employees during drilling operations and enables 100 percent drilling productivity.

The development process began when one of Sapa’s long-standing customers, System 2000 Group (S2G), was approached by Rigmar Services of Aberdeen, to design and manufacture an automatic horizontal roller shutter door on the Rowan Norway drilling rig. Once installed, the system would allow the rig to drill via an offshore installation with zero downtime, by protecting the workforce on the lower deck during drilling operations. S2G called Sapa at an early stage to assist with their extrusion design.

Rigmar Services, an innovative projects and service provider to the oil and gas sector, had been asked to provide a system capable of completely enclosing the "moonpool" area, which is where the drilling package penetrates the main deck of the rig to access the sea. The key function of the final design would be to prevent dropped objects falling from the various working levels of the rig and onto the installation below where personnel would be located.

Without the closure, the rig would have to alternate operations above and below, reducing the productivity of the well extraction. But with the "moonpool" sealed, personnel could continue working above and below, without fear of injury.