Growth for iicorr in the Cathodic Protection Sector

Integrity, inspection and corrosion specialist iicorr has experienced high demand for its Cathodic Protection systems and surveys in the last 12 months with contract wins of more than £1.9million for clients in the North Sea and internationally.

Recent projects include supplying ICCP (impressed current cathodic protection) products:

* for a retrofit on the Stena Tay deepwater drilling rig that was carried out in Gran Canaria

* to BAE Systems for use on Royal Navy Astute Class submarines

* to Diamond Offshore Drilling for the Ocean Winner semisubmersible

Engineers have also worked on Cathodic Protection solutions for harbours at Largs, Colonsay, Montrose, Inverness and Lerwick in the UK to control the corrosion of steel structures affected by Accelerated Low Water Corrosion (ALWC) which causes billions of pounds worth of damage worldwide.

Gordon McKinnell, general manager at iicorr’s Subspection division which specialises in CP work, said the company had been extremely busy carrying out survey work for clients in the UK and internationally, involving vessels, pipelines and offshore platforms.

Surveys have been completed in locations including the North Sea, the Far East, Egypt, Angola, Spain, and Holland with upcoming work in the Middle East and Trinidad for clients including Total, Shell, Maersk and Repsol.  

“iicorr and Subspection are highly-regarded globally for supplying quality products and services and we have had record demand in the last few months, in particular for survey work,’’ said Mr McKinnell.

To continue to maintain its international reputation for innovation and customer support, iicorr has invested heavily in Research & Development to enhance its offering for customers, with a range of new CP products being developed. 

Two of the most recent new products to be brought to market are:

1. CP Probe Calibration Unit

The calibration unit provides a series of constant potentials referred to the silver/silver chloride reference electrode built into the test pod.  The unit consists of a tank with a metal grid, which can be polarised at set potentials.  The region above the grid is a constant potential zone where a CP probe containing a silver/silver chloride reference electrode can be calibrated against the known set potentials.  The unit operates from high capacity, rechargeable NiMH batteries and is housed in a robust water tight case for easy transportation and use, saving the costly purchase and frequent replacement of fragile calomel cells. 

2. Anti-fouling System Description

The Anti-fouling System Controller is a fully processor controlled unit that provides a constant current supply to six independent pairs of anodes and has the following features:

•     Six independently controllable output pairs (Eg. Copper and Aluminium)

•     Automatic ratio tracking on secondary output (Aluminium)

•     LCD Display

•     Menu driven user interface

•     Automatic thermal shut down and intelligent recovery of outputs

•     Auxiliary volt free alarm contacts

The new system has been made far smaller to meet customer demand – six anodes are now controlled from a unit one third of the size of the unit that previously controlled just one anode pair.

Mr McKinnell said: “We are constantly looking at our product ranges to see how we can make improvements and streamlining equipment destined for use on maritime vessels is a priority for us. We saw that with the Royal Navy contract and have worked more recently with our anti-fouling system to reduce the size enormously.’’   

Subspection Ltd was acquired by iicorr last year (2008) and the combined expertise of the two companies resulted in a new business division in iicorr, creating an industry-leading organisation specialising in subsea technical integrity and corrosion solutions.

Subspection Ltd, based in Alresford, UK, and Singapore employs 30 people and is a provider of cathodic protection survey, consultancy, engineering and subsea sensor equipment to the oil and gas and marine industries.  The company was integrated into iicorr’s new cathodic protection services division and has been aiding iicorr’s expansion internationally in the area of subsea technical integrity. 

iicorr is a specialist in integrity, inspection and corrosion, providing consultancy, management, engineering and operational support in the oil and gas, process, utilities and marine industry sectors.  The company employs over 200 people and has offices in Aberdeen, Houston, Baku, Kuala Lumpur, Perth and Benelux.