CUSTOMER: Shell Expro Nelson platform , North Sea

PROBLEM:  Wellhead movement caused by wave action on casing conductors threatened serious damage with safety implications and significant shutdown and replacement costs.

SOLUTION:  Following extensive Finite Element Analysis, carried out by AMEC (joint collaborators in the development), it was agreed that SmartShim™ would offer the desired results. 

The unique Furmanite-engineered SmartShim™ slips are filled with a specially developed polyurethane resin, which is oil, gas and seawater resistant. This specialist resin is mixed and injected on-site and is designed to cure in-situ, fitting the precise dimensions required without holding the conductor too rigidly and causing further damage. Furthermore, the covering material's good abrasive resistance also allows for the vertical movement of the conductor (caused by the temperature changes of the riser content), whilst limiting lateral movement within a desired tolerance band.

Furmanite technicians undertook installation on eleven 26-inch conductors, each at elevations of 14 metres and 23 metres.

OUTCOME: Significant reduction of wellhead movement has been achieved on Shell Expro platform, together with a corresponding increase in fatigue life of flowlines, as a result of the installation of almost 90 chocks, in the largest SmartShim™ installation undertaken to date.