Cathodic protection
Pushing the science of corrosion control forward

An introduction

Deepwater designs and manufactures cathodic protection systems for offshore and marine assets, specializing in the development of innovative retrofit technology for aging assets in need of life extension.

Over the last 25 years, our cathodic protection designers and corrosion engineers have been at the forefront of the offshore industry, writing inspection procedures, developing standards and helping operators protect their infrastructure by inventing new systems that combat corrosion in almost every environment. Our approach has constantly evolved to provide more efficient and affordable alternatives to traditional cathodic protection design, which relies heavily on simple sacrificial-anode systems.

Today, Deepwater has a large staff of NACE-certified corrosion engineers experienced in all aspects of cathodic protection science. By encouraging them to learn from our long and diverse project history and to develop innovative new methods, our team has brought the science of cathodic protection up to speed with today's cutting-edge energy market. The result is a suite of proven, reliable cathodic-protection system designs that can protect new and aging infrastructure assets in any condition throughout the world.

Life-extension for aging assets

While traditional sacrificial-anode systems are still the most efficient solution for many new projects, aging infrastructure and new types of offshore assets (FPSOs, deep-water fields) require cathodic-protection designers to focus on new ideas and methodologies for streamlining installation and reducing overall project costs.

Looking forward - In response to the aging infrastructure found in older oil fields around the world, we have focused our talents on eliminating hazards and costs associated with retrofitting new cathodic protection systems for mature assets. Now that the majority of the world's offshore infrastructure is on the verge of exceeding original life requirements, our efforts are paying off. With proven system designs, we have found ourselves far ahead of our competition. If your needs require retrofitting sacrificial-anode systems or replacing spent anodes with new impressed-current cathodic protection (ICCP), we have solutions for any situation.

In 2009, Deepwater retrofitted sacrificial and impressed-current cathodic protection on 124 structures in the Gulf of Mexico alone.

As the world's subsea pipelines, FPSOs, wind turbines and traditional jacket structures (platforms) become mature, operators must consider the smartest and safest way to keep them protected. Recognizing that installation is the most significant cost in an anode replacement project, our approach significantly reduces the time required to retrofit CP to an existing asset while extending its life by up to 25 additional years.

Related technical information

Cathodic Protection 101 (Paper)

A refresher tutorial on the science of cathodic protection, as it pertains to the offshore oil and gas industry, including diagrams and chemical equations explaining galvanic and impressed-current systems.

Improvements in Offshore Pipeline Cathodic Protection (Paper)

Abstract: Newly-developed survey methods combined with innovative design software and low-cost, easy-to-install hardware are helping redefine cathodic protection & life extensions for offshore pipelines.

Cathodic Protection Design Services

Traditional sacrificial anodes – onshore and offshore ­– still rely on intelligent initial CP design.

 

 

Cathodic protection by asset