Cathodic Protection
For Offshore Platforms
An introduction
Deepwater Corrosion Services provides cathodic protection for new structures and anode replacement or supplementation for aging offshore assets. Having rewritten the "CP retrofit textbook" with our ground-breaking anode replacement systems, Deepwater can retrofit a structure's CP system more quickly and more efficiently, reducing the cost to the operator by up to 40% over traditional methods. When the majority of the world's offshore infrastructure is beginning to reach the end of it's original design life, it is more important than ever to address corrosion control and cathodic protection for valuable offshore assets. Our anti-corrosion specialists have provided, supplemented, or replaced the cathodic protection on every type of brown or green-field asset currently in operation, many prematurely, due to unforeseen corrosion problems. No one has retrofitted cathodic protection on as many structures as Deepwater.
For new platforms, we provide stock platform anodes , made at one our two certified ISO 9000 anode foundries: Deepwater Gaus (Houston, TX) and Deepwater MPE (Indonesia). Having access to our own raw materials for all of the aluminum and zinc anodes in our systems allows us to ensure the highest quality alloys on the market.
For sacrificial retrofit situations, where impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) is not an option, we usually recommend the RetroPod (including the RetroClamp) system, due to its continued track record of success in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.
For most anode retrofit projects, where a larger structure or complex of structures can require significant amounts of cathodic protection, we recommend the RetroBuoy ICCP retrofit system. Providing up to 400 Amps of CP for 25 years, it is the most effective and efficient anode sled on the market.
At the same time that the new anodes are installed on a structure, we recommend also that our customers opt for a retrofit cathodic protection monitoring system. This helps to more easily verify continuity at installation and also to monitor system performance for the life of the new design. Platform monitoring can even be done remotely.
Related Technical Papers
Offshore Cathodic Protection 101
A brief tutorial about the science of cathodic protection as it pertains to the offshore oil & gas industry, complete with diagrams, chemical equations etc.
Offshore CP System Management: A 21st Century Approach
Abstract: As offshore structures around the world are aging and in many cases reaching the end of their useful lives, operators are looking for ways to reduce costs on subsea maintenance ...
Impressed Current CP Retrofits: The Good, Bad & the Ugly
Abstract: It has long been recognized that an impressed current design can offer significant economic advantages over galvanic anodes on certain types of offshore platforms that require a cathodic ...
Cost Saving Offshore Cathodic Protection Retrofit Methods
Abstract: Many offshore structures, platforms and pipelines, will require a cathodic protection retrofit in the next several years. This paper describes some concerns associated with retrofitting aging ...
Platform Cathodic Protection Products
RetroBuoy™
The RetroBuoy cuts retrofit costs by delivering more protection, more efficiently, using the impressed current method of cathodic protection. In fact, one typical RetroBuoy sled can deliver up to 400 Amps of corrosion protection – enough to protect 80,000 ft2 of steel. Potential structures must have power topside.
RetroPod™
The RetroPod system provides sacrificial aluminum anodes arranged in stable, self-contained 'pods'. These pods are deposited on the seabed, and connected with the RetroClamp tieback system to any tubular member or flange, allowing for less installation time with little or no diver intervention.
RetroClamp™
The RetroClamp allows us to retrofit the cathodic protection anodes on a pipeline without divers, and without removing the pipeline weight coating. It is a standard, off-the-shelf item, sized for any standard diameter tubular, fully diver or ROV friendly. Only partial excavation (120°) is necessary for buried pipe.
RetroLink™
Designed for minimal structures and caissons, the RetroLink system is a string of anodes installed topside, and then hung down to the sea floor . For a design of five years or less on a platform (in 85 feet of water), our Retrolink system delivers economic and effective protection. RetroLink is ideal for a temporary CP solution.
RetroBuoy Jr.™
The RetroBuoy Jr. is a single float version of the RetroBuoy, with a gravity base. The RetroBuoy Jr. is ideal for smaller powered platforms with 3 or 4 piles in relatively shallow water. The single float can produce roughly 150 amps of cathodic protection, enough to protect approximately 30,000 ft2 of steel.
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