 "Thermoplastic composite pipes of Airborne Oil & Gas")
Through its venture capital arm, Evonik has invested in Dutch firm Airborne Oil & Gas (AOG), which possesses a unique technology for the production of thermoplastic composite pipes for a variety of offshore oil and gas applications. The investment was made jointly with HPE Growth Capital (HPE) and Shell Technology Ventures.
The current offshore oil & gas infrastructure consists of either rigid steel pipes or so-called flexibles. The latter comprise of multiple layers of steel and polymers. AOG’s thermoplastic composite pipes dispense with steel entirely and are therefore not susceptible to corrosion. They have extremely high mechanical stability but are also flexible. As an added advantage they are lightweight and can be fabricated in lengths of up to 10 km, which means that AOG’s pipes can be installed relatively simply and cost effectively. Rigid steel lines are welded together from segments that are 10-20 meters long, using highly specialised and costly pipe-laying vessels.
Airborne Oil & Gas’s thermoplastic composite pipes are suitable and beneficial for a wide range of offshore applications. A number of operators have qualified AOG’s pipes for offshore oil & gas transport lines, where the benefits of low cost installation and the absence of corrosion offer breakthrough improvements. A considerable amount of the 150,000 to 200,000 km of globally installed transport lines is over 20 years old and in need of replacement, which is an attractive entry point for AOG.
For Evonik, the oil & gas industry is an attractive growth market and an important innovation field. Furthermore, the company is one of the leaders in polyamide 12, marketed as Vestamid, which is well-proven in pipes for oil and gas production and transport. “Airborne Oil & Gas is an excellent strategic match for Evonik. Their unique pipe technology and Evonik's high performance polymer portfolio enable us to develop new solutions for the industry,” said Bernhard Mohr, head of Venture Capital at Evonik.
Eric van der Meer, CEO of AOG, added, “In Evonik, we have gained a strategic investor with an extensive knowledge of plastics for oil & gas applications. We hope this will give us additional impetus to develop our business further.”
