World Class Engineered Cable Blog

Installing cables that are not designed to withstand dynamic / flexing applications can lead to failure. Find out what causes Z-Kinking and how Exane's^® PowerFlex and TorqueFlex products help you avoid this costly issue by downloading Marmon Electrical's white paper, "Z-Kinking: Risks to Performance and Prevention" by Damian Billeaudeau, National Sales Manager for Marmon Electrical‘s Oil & Gas group. 

 

                 

 

Properly designed high performance oil and gas cables for ocean rig drilling and land rig drilling can meet the challenge of maintaining equipment efficiency, reducing operational cost, and minimizing unscheduled maintenance.  Unforeseen and consistent rig downtime can directly affect top line day rates and contract renewal.  Key drilling components such as top drives, drawworks, pipe handlers, BOP controls, mud equipment and drilling control systems are the lifeline to a safe and efficient rig operation.

How can electrical cable minimize rig downtime?  One cable type is not fitting for each application.  Close collaboration with customers can determine cable turnover rates as it relates to mode of failure.  Products designed for certain applications can increase performance and minimize equipment downtime.

The good news is that EXANE cables are among those that can help!  State of the art cross-linking technology coupled with high grade compounds generate cables with improved life expectancy and field reliability.

 

Do you want to risk specifying less expensive electrical cables on your offshore oil rig that could cause a multi-million dollar electrical system failure?

The oil and gas industry has documented that by not specifying the highest performing cable at relatively modest additional cost has led to systems and operator downtime sometimes as expensive as $500,000 to $600,000 per day per incident.

Cables specified for electrical and fire safety systems need to operate in extreme environments for cold, high heat, wet, chemical exposure (minerals and esters), sunlight, and longer and hotter operating times.

Thermoset materials are better than thermoplastic types when exposed to extreme temperature and drilling muds with harsh chemicals and oils.   However, not all thermoset materials perform the same. Some materials have trade-offs such as low resistance to thermal cycling or failure in arctic temperatures down to -70C.

When specifying cables for offshore marine oil rig electrical systems don’t risk fire safety and electrical failures. Exane ® MR, manufactured by RSCC Wire & Cable, East Granby, Connecticut, has a historical industry position of meeting and exceeding standards required by IEC 61892-4 and NEK 606.