Umbilical manufacturing is generally the manufacturing of the umbilical cable that is used in offshore oil and gas industries. The umbilical is a composite cable that is used by offshore oil and gas industries for linking parts of their subsea oil and gas production systems. These umbilical cables are also used to provide support during construction activities.
Umbilical Properties
Umbilical manufacturing involves the development of umbilical cables from a variety of materials including steel tubes, thermoplastic hoses, electrical power cores, signal cords, optical fibers and other types of functional components.
Flowlines carry crude oil and gas from offshore facilities to onshore facilities. However, the umbilical provides a link between offshore facilities and host facilities for the conveying of hydraulic power, process chemicals, electrical power and signals to oil and gas production centers.
The umbilical cable is generally many kilometers in length in order to carry power from onshore facilities to the offshore facilities. Shorter umbilicals are also used in between offshore or subsea structures. They are used to facilitate offshore installation activities and control pressure training systems during drilling and well construction activities.
Umbilical Products
As mentioned, umbilical cables are made up of a variety of materials known as functional components. Additional components include steel tubes, medium voltage power cores, low voltage electrical power cables, and signal cables.
Umbilical manufacturing is based on the application, project task, and even the specific environmental and operational conditions in which the umbilical cable is being used. The use and environment for the cable will determine what type of functional components will be used for the overall creation of a particular cable.
Exact composition of the umbilical is also determined based on installation methodology, use, and the hardware that will be attached to the cable. Different umbilical cables include the dynamic umbilical and the static umbilical.
Dynamic umbilicals are typically created to undergo continuous flexing during operation life. Static umbilicals are designed to remain still during installation and use.
Benefits of Umbilical Uses
The use of the umbilical cable in offshore drilling projects has been promoted by the Umbilical Manufacturers’ Federation (UMF) since it was founded in 2001. The majority of the benefits of using umbilical cables is based on the materials used to create the product. By building and improving the design of the umbilical, umbilical manufacturing has established increased quality, reliability, and overall safety of umbilical products.
