Engineering applications of fiberglass protective covers for oil and gas production facilities in submerged sand slope areas

Glass fiber reinforced materials have the advantages of light weight, high specific strength, and corrosion resistance, making them suitable for application in the structure of underwater oil and gas production protection systems. First, a variety of resin materials for underwater protective structures are tested for seawater degradation and mechanical properties, and excellent resins that can still ensure the structural load-bearing capacity and stability after immersion are selected. Secondly, the strength calculation and structural analysis of the designed fiberglass protective structure are carried out under the loading conditions of sand slope accumulation, fishing net towing and lifting. Afterwards, in order to facilitate the transportation and installation of large fiberglass shields, the paper innovatively proposes to adopt a segmented modular manufacturing solution. Finally, an underwater installation study is carried out considering the closed characteristics of the fiberglass shields. Based on the above series of studies, the glass fiber protective structure has been successfully installed in the South China Sea oilfield.