【Major Equipment in the Chemical Engineering Sector】The first long-length static steel pipe umbilical cable in China was manufactured between 2017 and 478
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On October 3, 2017, after 49 days of round-the-clock efforts, the cabling test for the umbilical cable of the Wenchang 9-2/9-3/10-3 gas field complex development project (hereinafter referred to as the “Wenchang Gas Field Complex Project”) was successfully completed, marking the completion of manufacturing China’s first long-length static steel pipe umbilical cable. The umbilical cable acts like the “umbilical cord” that connects the fetus to the mother, providing underwater production facilities with power, signals, hydraulic oil, and chemical agents, which is why it is referred to as the “underwater lifeline”. This product has always been monopolized by a few foreign companies, resulting in high prices and long delivery times. The umbilical cable for the Wenchang Gas Field complex is a steel tube umbilical cable that connects the Wenchang 9-2/9-3 CEP platforms to the underwater wellheads of the Wenchang 10-3 gas field. It has a total length of approximately 23 kilometers, operates at a design depth of around 150 meters, and is designed to last for 20 years. It consists mainly of 9 super duplex stainless steel tubes, 2 power and communication cables, as well as various supporting equipment. Domestic umbilical cable manufacturers do not yet have any experience in using products of the same type required for the Wenchang Gas Field project; therefore, umbilical cables have been listed as key areas for breakthroughs under the project’s “three new developments and three modernizations” initiative. To ensure the successful localization of umbilical cables, at the initial stage of the basic design, the project team from Zhanjiang Branch, CNOOC Research Institute, Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd., and domestic manufacturers worked together to carry out a series of investigations and expert technical evaluations. This effort ultimately led to the successful design, manufacture, and testing of prototype cables, which were recognized by third-party inspection agencies.
The underwater umbilical cable for the Wenchang Gas Field Complex project has a total length of approximately 23 kilometers, and it consists mainly of 9 super duplex stainless steel pipes, 2 power and communication cables, as well as associated auxiliary equipment. As a key breakthrough item under the \"Three New Advances and Three Modernizations\" initiative for the Wenchang Gas Field project, and in order to ensure the successful domestic production of underwater umbilical cables, at the initial stage of the project’s basic design, the project team from Zhanjiang Branch, the offshore construction general contractor team, and HAIWO Shenzhen Underwater Company worked together to conduct thorough research on potential domestic suppliers of underwater umbilical cables as well as seek expert technical evaluations. At the same time, to ensure that domestic manufacturers possess the capability to design and construct underwater umbilical cables, the project team required them to hire a professional third-party certification and inspection agency to conduct design reviews for such cables. During the development process, 600 meters of prototype underwater umbilical cables were produced on a trial basis to verify the stability of the production equipment and manufacturing processes, and all product type tests were carried out in strict accordance with umbilical cable specifications using these prototype cables. In the presence of witnesses from various parties, the prototype underwater umbilical cable successfully obtained a third-party product certification, thereby ensuring that domestic manufacturers were eligible to bid on the underwater umbilical cable projects for the Wenchang gas field complex. They ultimately won the bid in competition with foreign companies.