It will be the ninth MGPS to be supplied to Lamprell at their Hamriyah facility in Sharjah, a partnership that began in 2009 and has been enhanced by the opening of Cathelco’s Sharjah office last year to extend sales and engineering support for clients across the Middle East.
The MGPS, consisting of copper and aluminium anodes which are wired to a control panel, is designed to eliminate blockages caused by barnacles and mussels in seawater lines.
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.
On the latest rig - a LeTourneau designed, self-elevating mobile offshore drilling unit of the Super 116E (Enhanced) Class Design - the Cathelco system will protect the lines from 3 pumps using anodes which are mounted directly into 10-inch diameter pipes using pipe upstands.
“In our experience jack-up rigs benefit from installations where the MGPS anodes are installed in pipe upstands, when a seachest is not available,” said Cathelco country manager Carlo Soddu who has been closely involved in the project at Lamprell.
“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 leading manufacturers of MGPS with more than 50,000 installations on commercial vessels and offshore structures in the past half century. The UK-based company also produce ICCP corrosion protection systems for jack-ups, semi-submersibles and offshore platforms.
Christopher McDonald was recently unveiled as Jim Moffat’s successor as ceo and director at Lamprell which provides fabrication, engineering and contracting services to the off and onshore oil and gas and renewable energy industries.
