RaymondÕs Rayweld service ... reduces pipe installation time and project costs

Pipeline ser-vices provider Raymond International has established a strong presence in Saudi Arabia through an extensive facility in Al Khobar.

From this facility Raymond is well placed to serve the Kingdom's oil and gas industries with its diverse range of pipeline services, which include the following:

Automatic welding

For fast, economical and defect-free welds, Raymond International's Automatic Welding system is field-proven for many of Saudi Arabia's major pipeline projects.

The system, called Rayweld, enables pipelines from 50mm to 4,000mm in diameter to be installed at a reduced cost, though in theory there is no pipeline size limitation.

Rayweld is available for application on boiler tubes, process piping and transmission lines in any type of steel or composite material.

Saudi Aramco has been realising the benefits of this highly reliable system, where zero defects are the norm, not the exception.

The Rayweld system was chosen to improve quality and speed of the welding services, thereby reducing project duration and, therefore, installation costs.

Some 150 km of pipelines are being installed from fields at Waqr and Tinet to Haradh, ranging from 500 to 750mm in diameter.

Raymond's versatile, automated welding system features on-board control of all essential welding parameters. It is quick and easy to set up, and is up to three times faster than manual out-of-position welding.

Rayweld produces high purity, crevice-free welds, and operates to a zero defect criteria. Work is carried out under strict quality control in compliance with ISO9002.

In addition to being cost-effective and easy to use, the Rayweld system offers other important benefits: increased deposition rate; narrow gap bevel design and higher weld strength.

Rayweld is suitable for application in the oil, gas, refining and petrochemical industries, in addition to a wide range of other industrial sectors.

The Rayweld system can also be utilised offshore prior to installing pipelines.

Rehabilitation

The company recently used a new technology to rehabilitate a large-diameter subsea pipeline built to provide raw water to Ras Tanura in the Eastern Province, resulting in major time and cost savings.

Raymond implemented 'cured in place pipe' (CIPP) lining technology to repair the 550m pipeline section in place, rather than removing and replacing the affected pipe.

CIPP is, according to Raymond, a unique process designed in particular to rehabilitate pipelines in inaccessible or difficult-to-access areas.

The rehabilitated section in this instance was part of a 24" diameter pipeline running under Tarut Bay from Qatif to Ras Tanura. It lies in about 10m of water about 1km offshore.

Other services

In addition to automatic welding and pipeline rehabilitation, Raymond specialises in linings (cement mortar, rubber, epoxy and polyethylene); coatings (concrete weight coating, epoxy and polyethylene); inspection (CCTV and condition surveys) and turnkey pipeline supply packages.

These services are provided to clients throughout the Middle East.

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