CHAPTER 10 NEW CONSTRUCTIONS

Troll Phase 1 gas platform, operated by

Norske Shell, which has been designed to
produce gas for 70 years. Jotun has
supplied the bulk of coatings and anodes
to this platform. It is protected with the
following system:
Aluminium metallizing, Penguard Tie Coat
100, Jotamastic 87 Aluminium and
Hardtop AS.
In addition 1,200 tons of aluminium
anodes were supplied to this project!
Photograph courtesy of Norske Shell
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CHAPTER 10 NEW CONSTRUCTIONS

New constructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.2

Why is planning so important? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.4

Corrosion protection philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.5

Coating specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.6

Chapter 10: 10.1

New Constructions
COATING MANUAL

NEW CONSTRUCTIONS The battle against corrosion really starts at the drawing table. Efforts should
always be made to continuously improve the design of the actual structure in
order to make pre-treatment and paint application easier. This in itself will
make the corrosion protection better and the system will last longer, thus saving
money for the end user.

Most industrial projects are long-term investments; in a few cases offshore

structures have a design life of up to 75 years. In such cases it is essential to
consider a long-term corrosion protection system for the entire project at the
early design stage. This is necessary in order to have a common overall design
specification and philosophy, to minimise interference and to optimise
protection. Considering the high costs involved in maintenance work, a solution
with long-term corrosion protection will also be the most cost-effective.

Whether or not to use shopprimed steel is in itself a discussion with economical

implications. If using a shopprimer to protect the steel during transport, storage
and production, it must meet the demands of temporary protection. It must not
greatly influence the cutting and welding speed and must not reduce the quality
of the welds. For more details, see chapter 20 ‘Shopprimers’.

Passive fire protection shall be installed behind all equipment as vessels, cable
trays, instrumentation etc., hence, it is important that the engineering is done so
that the material can be installed at an early stage. Areas where supports etc. are
to be fitted should be defined and masked off prior to application. For further
information, see chapter 17 ‘Passive Fire Protection’.

For areas exposed to seawater, the right combination of cathodic protection and
coatings should be considered at an early stage to ensure long term, cost
effective protection. [continued]

Chapter 10: 10.2

New Constructions
COATING MANUAL

NEW CONSTRUCTIONS Antifouling systems for submerged structures must be considered, and
[continued] depending on international regulations, systems can be designed for protection
against marine fouling for as much as up to 20 years.

Investment in good protection at new

construction will pay dividends later.

Chapter 10: 10.3

New Constructions
COATING MANUAL

WHY IS PLANNING SO Sound planning is essential for a successful job. Everybody realises this, but still,
IMPORTANT? when things go wrong we usually hear the comment “ It’s all due to bad
planning”. Planning is obviously very complicated due to the fact that it covers
many disciplines and involves many people and companies.

Regular and safe operation throughout the design life with as few planned
shutdowns as possible is of utmost importance, not only for economical reasons.
Breakdowns caused by corrosion may also result in leakages from gases and/or
flammable liquids that could very likely bring disaster.

Planning may consist of, but not necessarily be limited to the following
elements:

• Corrosion protection philosophy – see below

• Preparation of specifications for coating protection – see below

• Collection of all relevant documentation

• Pre-qualification and pre-production testing

• Additional education of personnel

• Time schedule: Preparation of painting jobs to comply with the

construction’s design and building phases

• Equipment: Ensure that everything is available and operative

• Evaluation and checking of safety measures

• Evaluation of inspection systems, including reports and condition

monitoring – see chapter 15 ‘Inspection and control’

• Ordering and shipping of material

Chapter 10: 10.4

New Constructions
COATING MANUAL

CORROSION PROTECTION Some of the elements involved in a coating job can be decided well in advance
PHILOSOPHY of the project and may be looked upon as a company philosophy or policy. All
parties involved in corrosion protection should have a philosophy, based on the
long term policy of the company, and factors such as: Present knowledge of
personnel, production capacity, available equipment, market shares and future
goals/investments. The philosophy of an owner will probably be quite different
from that of a yard. As indicated below an owner’s philosophy could primarily
focus on a cost optimal protection of his investment, while a yard could
emphasise a quick and cheap production.

The ultimate goal for an owner could be to treat the structure in such a way that
the lowest lifetime cost per square meter is achieved. This may seem easy, but
will in fact require the owner to do the right thing at the right time. Obviously,
a lot of knowledge within the company itself as well as from all parties involved
is a necessity. The company philosophy should be used to increase the
performance of the protective systems for the structure and must therefore be
presented to the suppliers as one of the conditions for getting the contract. This
may result in the owner developing his own company’s paint specification.

The philosophy should clarify questions relating to:

• Fundamental technical aspects

• Economy
• SHE (Safety, Health, Environment)
A typical corrosion protection philosophy statement would be: “For protection
of seawater ballast tanks our company shall use only light coloured, modified
epoxy products. The coating system shall be backed up by a cathodic protection
system (sacrificial anodes).”
Chapter 10: 10.5
New Constructions
COATING MANUAL

COATING SPECIFICATION Perhaps the most important single-point of the planning is the surface
preparation specification. Specifications for pre-treatment and protective
systems must be approved in advance by all parties involved, i.e. owner, yard,
product supplier and subcontractors. Good planning and preparation of paint
jobs during the design and construction phases will reduce the extent of
subsequent maintenance work. Unfortunately many specifications are unclear
and therefore interpreted differently by the individual operators and companies
involved. The specification should be well defined and leave no room for
individual adjustments. Further, the aim of the specification should be optimal
corrosion protection with the minimal need for subsequent maintenance.

To safeguard regular and safe operations, and to minimise costly maintenance of

the corrosion protection system, it would be unwise not to make a Life Cycle
Cost (LCC) evaluation to select the cost optimal system, even though it may
result in slightly increased investment cost. This higher investment is probably
a very cheap insurance premium to safeguard the operation.

For any owner or operator of industrial projects it is essential that he can

depend on his material supplier, that he gets what he needs at the right time.
Jotun Paints is such a supplier, not only providing coatings, cathodic protection
and passive fire protection, but also assisting services such as engineering,
consultation, technical service and operational support.

Chapter 10: 10.6

New Constructions