Cuming Corporation Receives Patent for Cast-on-Pipe Insulation Technology

(Boston) Cuming Corporation has been granted a patent for its C-THERM syntactic foam insulation cast-on-pipe technology from the United States Patent Office. This new invention addresses a key challenge of the offshore oil and gas industry - pipelines that plug as hot oil or gas comes into contact with cold water. C-THERM insulation makes long flowlines in deep water both technically and economically feasible by protecting against the formation of paraffins or hydrates.

Shell's King Subsea Project in the Gulf of Mexico is the first major subsea piping system to incorporate this patented technology. Over six miles of flowline were coated with syntactic foam in our New Iberia, Louisiana, facility for the project. The flowline was tested and rated for twenty years of service at a depth of 3,300 feet and a temperature of 170°F. C-THERM may be used to insulate other subsea equipment as well, with the capability of forming a complete deepwater thermal barrier. For the King project, Cuming also insulated the PLEM sleds that terminate each length of flowline.

Cuming Corporation was founded in 1980 by noted materials scientist Dr. William R. Cuming. For the last 20 years, the company has manufactured high performance syntactic foam products for the offshore oil and gas industry. As the offshore industry has moved into greater depths, Cuming Corporation has developed cost-effective solutions for meeting the technical challenges of deep sea exploration and production in increasingly difficult conditions.