Applications of composite materials in the oil industry: Case studies

The oil and gas industry is faced to the challenge of exploration and production in deep water. In these conditions weight of the subsea equipment anchored to the platform or the vessel is one of the limitation; light materials are necessary. Composite materials are a good solution, due to their high specific properties. Two case studies are described in this paper: (1) high performance composite tubes used as risers, peripheral lines, or tendons and (2) composite tensile armors of Coflexip Stena Offshore flexible pipes.