Intertec Instrumentation
GRP shelters protect offshore process analyzers
Shelters fabricated from glass-fiber-reinforced polyester (GRP) are protecting gas metering instrumentation from the harsh North Sea environment on an offshore platform-upgrade project engineered by Oil & Gas Systems Ltd. Two outdoor shelters — supplied by this company — provide lightweight and corrosion-resistant protection for gas chromatograph analyzers and process transmitters mounted above new natural gas export pipelines connecting the platform to an onshore U.K. terminal. GRP materials were specified to protect the instrumentation. This allowed weight to be reduced significantly compared with metal shelters. GRP construction also provided excellent protection against both the harsh weather in the offshore location, and the local environmental conditions. The lightness of GRP compared to steel helped to reduce the size and weight of the metalwork structure that mounts the shelters directly above the export pipelines. All of the shelter fittings, apart from the finned aluminum bodies of the heaters, are fabricated from 316 stainless steel for corrosion resistance — including the panic-bar door opening mechanism. — Intertec Instrumentation, Sarnia, Ont., Canada