CRP Subsea Wins Contract with Shell for Crushable Foam Wrap Supply

UK-headquartered CRP Subsea, a part of AIS, has secured a significant contract with Shell for the provision of crushable foam wrap (CFW) for a deepwater development project situated offshore Houston in the Gulf of Mexico/America.

The agreement, initially for the Whale development, covers the delivery of CFW for one well-set, with potential orders for four additional well-sets anticipated later this year.

Each well-set includes 1,798 CFW quadrants, each measuring one meter in length. The package also encompasses essential installation equipment such as adhesive, adhesive dispensing guns, tie wraps, and spanset straps.

CFW, an engineered syntactic foam consisting of a thermoset resin and hollow glass microspheres (HGMS), is specifically designed to encase the inner drill casing and be submerged in the annulus fluid.

As pressure within the annulus rises, the CFW is engineered to collapse at a predetermined pressure and temperature combination, as dictated by the well conditions. This controlled collapse aids in expanding the annulus fluid, mitigating potentially harmful pressure build-up, as explained by CRP Subsea.

Production of the CFW will take place at CRP Subsea’s Skelmersdale facility, with project engineering set to commence shortly. The delivery of the first well-set is scheduled for Q3 2025.

Shell, following a hydrocarbon discovery in 2017, made a final investment decision in July 2021 for the Whale deepwater development in the Perdido Corridor. The project is operated by Shell, holding a 60% stake, with Chevron owning the remaining 40%.

Production at the deepwater site commenced earlier this year, marking a significant milestone for the companies involved.

“It’s fantastic that Shell has chosen us to support this exciting deepwater project. We’ve been manufacturing and deploying crushable foam wrap for decades, protecting wells worldwide. This contract underscores our team’s expertise and commitment to delivering top-notch solutions for the industry,” stated Andy Smith, CRP Subsea’s Head of Sales.

CRP Subsea has recently secured several new contracts, including providing a protection solution for HVDC and FOC cables for an underwater electricity project between the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, the company received an order for distributed buoyancy modules (DBMs) for a deepwater oil field venture in the pre-salt Santos Basin offshore Brazil.

Last month, CRP Subsea was appointed to deliver DBMs for a natural gas development off the Eastern Mediterranean coast, further expanding its portfolio of projects.