Vallourec delivers 3D-printed plugs for offshore Australia intervention

Offshore staff

BOULOGNE-BILANCOURT, France – Vallourec has employed additive manufacturing to supply a fast-track order for VAM TTR HW riser lifting plugs with a 100-metric ton lift capacity.

The client needed these for a workover program in the Timor Sea offshore Australia.

Vallourec re-designed the lifting plugs to include special non-standard diameters (15% higher) that were compatible with Weatherford’s existing equipment. They were then 3D-printed using the Vallourec Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) robot in Singapore, and were delivered in just under two months compared with the more usual three to four months.

WAAM involves the use of a welding source and robot arm to direct a printing nozzle to deposit material, layer upon layer, in near-net shapes. Once all the material is deposited, the result is machined, tested and VAM threaded.

Vallourec’s first 3D-printed safety-critical equipment item was a waterbushing for TotalEnergies in the EIG Franklin well in the UK central North Sea at the start of 2021. This successful project opened a door to new possibilities including this latest success with Weatherford. 

According to Vallourec, the main benefit of WAAM is that it allows companies to create a digital or virtual warehouse for ordering spare parts as a printable file. 

01/07/2022