Thermoflex Blog

Common pipe materials in mines, HDPE and steel come with liabilities. Baker Hughes Composite Pipe is designed to counter the three largest problems with steel and HDPE. 

As mines work to meet the global need for raw materials, successful fluid transportation that is cost-effective, easy to implement, and environmentally responsible has become imperative.

June 23rd is International Women in Engineering Day. Celebrated around the world and recognized by UNESCO, it is a day to honor the women of engineering making strides in this field.

To celebrate the achievements of women in engineering, we asked Natalie Stepchinsky, P.E. - Lead Engineer CTH - Mechanical Engineering at Baker Hughes Flexible Pipe Systems Onshore for her thoughts.

As an onsite mining supervisor, your primary enemy within your mine's topographic footprint, is water. From initial design of the dewatering program through mine closure, your job is to get the water out—and keep it out.  

And if water does appear, it’s your job to make it disappear. Quickly. Your company loses hundreds of thousands of dollars each day your mine is not excavating and/or hauling material due to a water caused delay.  

Overview and Statistics

Although pipe failure is not a common occurrence, it does happen from time to time in the energy industry. Most of these failures come from steel pipe, which is quite prone to corrosion. Pipe failures are much less common in RTP pipe, a flagship product and pipeline solution provided by Baker Hughes.

Based on statistical analysis from the United States, pipeline failure frequencies range from 0.4 to 0.6 times /kilo-km each year over the last twelve-year measuring period. In areas prone to vibration, failure frequency rises to up to 0.14 occurrences/kilo-km each year.

Pipeline failure can have a negative impact on the environment, the stakeholders, and the company’s bottom line. Therefore, despite being somewhat rare, precautions need to be taken, especially during the installation of pipe, to mitigate failure.

Paraffin is a naturally occurring wax that can build up in flow lines and cause costly production problems to the tune of billions of dollars industry-wide each year. Costs are incurred not only because of the reduction or loss of crude production but because of expensive chemical and mechanical treatments, extra horsepower requirements, and additional manpower.

Baker Hughes would like you to be aware of our paraffin-mitigating piping solutions. We offer proprietary nylon-based Baker Hughes Composite Pipes® flow lines, a reinforced thermoplastic pipe (RTP), which is a flexible, durable, and easy-to-install pipe solution with the strength of steel and strong paraffin-retarding characteristics.

Mining costs are rising. In the wake of weak metal costs from 2012 through 2017, mining companies hoped to ride a surge of new investment as prices rose once again. Unfortunately, miners can’t take advantage of the rising cost of metals if their equipment and extraction costs rise at the same time. Further, as ore grades decline, these costs will inevitably increase.

Hydrocarbon Transport Options

For decades, carbon steel was an industry standard for hydrocarbon transport, offering great physical strength, and ease of fabrication.

How to Install Composite Pipe by Baker Hughes?

You’ve worked with the Baker Hughes team to select just the right composite pipe for your project and have already seen the savings and superiority over steel and HDPE now you must begin preparing for the installation phase and all the associated costs such as manpower, downtime, and equipment.

Cost & Time Savings

The PE Flex Plus pipe provides major advantages over conventional poly pipe and its permeation short-falls.