Sustaining waves in excess of 25m high driven by winds at over 100mph for 30 years, the Hutton, the world’s first ever production Tension Leg Platform (TLP), was protected by our Interzone 1000 coating throughout its lifetime.
Located on the UK continental shelf, the Hutton TLP was built by ConocoPhillips at Highland Fabricators in 1982. The coatings specification at the time called for up to 20 years’ performance lifetime in the harsh environment of the North Sea. We recommended using Interzone 1000, back then a newly formulated glass flake epoxy for the topsides and tubular splash zone sections.
Almost 30 years after application, independent inspection found that the coating was in very good condition and still offering excellent corrosion protection to the structure.
Chris Jordan, Coatings Specialist for ConocoPhillips during construction of the Hutton and with more than 40 years’ experience of surveying in the North Sea said: “It is clear that after nearly 30 years in service the high loaded glass flake epoxy applied on the tubular splash zone sections of the Hutton TLP hull is performing very well. Even areas subjected to abrasion from topside equipment such as pumps, ropes and chains are in excellent condition considering the lifetime.”
Jordan went on to say that: “We chose the high loaded non-micronized glass flake epoxy for the Hutton as it’s easier to apply than other high loaded glass flake coatings and offers the long term protection we wanted.”
Interzone 1000 is still widely applied in the offshore industry, protecting customers’ assets around the world for decades at a time – minimizing the need for major maintenance and full recoating. The secret to the product’s success is the high level of lamellar glass flake in the dry film. This makes the coating very impermeable to water and corrosive ions, as well as more abrasion resistant, thereby providing long term corrosion protection in the harshest environments.
The story of the Hutton TLP however didn’t stop after decommissioning. The topsides, being in excellent condition, were then recycled and used for the Prirazlomnaya drilling platform located at the Russian Prirazlomnoye oil field, proving that our coatings are capable of providing excellent protection for decades in some of the world’s harshest environments.
Focus product: Interzone 1000
Year of project: 1982
Project size: 40,000 litres
