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Product category: Oil, Gas, Petrochemical Industry News
News Release from: Quadrant | Subject: Ertacetal stock shapes
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial Team on 18 August 2005

Marine seismic measurement performance
improved

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The rise in world oil consumption has put particular pressure on ocean survey technology companies to deliver greater sensitivity and faster results: Quadrant plastic shapes are helping in this quest

Quadrant EPP Ertacetal stock shapes help improve speed and sensitivity of marine seismic measurements As world oil consumption continues to accelerate, offshore exploration has become increasingly essential for production companies who wish to keep pace with demand

The demands of this business climate have put particular pressure on ocean survey technology to deliver greater sensitivity and faster results.

The search for these qualities led a worldwide seismic acquisition leader, Sercel Europe, to select Ertacetal from Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products (Quadrant EPP), a leading global manufacturer of plastic stockshapes (rods, plates and tubes) for machining.

Used to construct thousands of oil filler blocks for the new Sercel seismic streamer, the Quadrant EPP highly machinable Ertacetal material helped deliver complex geometries, high chemical resistance and low specific weight.

The result was a strong, flexible streamer able to map the seabed more quickly and with greater sensitivity.

The Sercel streamer measures 12 km in length with oil filler blocks placed every 3 m.

Each block acts as a valve mechanism that helps to pump ballast - a mixture of kerosene and glycerine - to certain segments of the streamer cable.

This enables shipboard controls to raise and lower individual segments over the seabed.

In addition to ensuring the streamer floats at the correct depths, blocks constructed from Ertacetal serve as bulkheads, breaking the internal tube down into multiple short sections.

This design helped dampen the influence of wave action on seismic readings.

In addition to good dimensional stability and consistent specific gravity, Ertacetal stock shapes met several other critical properties for the Sercel application.

Made from highly machinable acetal resin, the blocks demonstrated low moisture uptake allowing for prolonged exposure to sea water.

Also, the material is chemically resistant to the streamer kerosene/glycerine ballast.

Typically, a vessel drags five 12-km-long streamers.

With an oil block placed every three meters, Ertacetal stock shapes provided a comparatively cost-effective solution.

Materials and parts targeting in this and other oil and gas-field applications often must maintain high standards of performance despite exposure to extreme pressure, high temperatures and corrosive chemicals.

The Quadrant EPP broad selection of engineering plastics can help meet these challenges, and offer additional performance options including excellent wear resistance, electrical insulation and low weight.

In addition to its high-performance materials portfolio Quadrant EPP offers equipment manufacturers, machinists and other customers superb technical expertise and service to help them find the optimal material for their part design.

Quadrant EPP will be among the exhibitors at Offshore Europe 2005, which runs from September 6 through 9 at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

Attendees interested in learning more about Quadrant EPP and its portfolio of plastic rods, plates and tubes for machining are invited to visit the company at Stand 1249.

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