Innovation and research
Innovation and research

Reducing environmental impact and improving safety of offshore production - London South Bank

23 Apr 2019

In 2015, the university established the London South Bank Innovation Centre (LSBIC) in collaboration with The Welding Institute (TWI), a world-leading not-for-profit research and technology organisation with expertise in joining and fabrication, material science and structural integrity.

The success by LSBIC in its research and development of automation and robotics for non-destructive testing (NDT) led to the establishment of a second centre the following year. The Advanced Resins and Coatings Technologies Innovation Centre focuses on coatings, nanomaterials and hybrid resins.

Since the establishment of the two research centres, LSBU has won over £2.5m of funding through the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme and Innovate UK. It has also won £3.8m worth of research and development projects.

LSBIC’s research focus is aligned with the research activities at LSBU to ensure that the research activity of one complements the other, creating new synergies. At the same time, TWI and its members also benefit from the creation of new products and processes.

One such project developed by LSBIC is RiserSureTM, a new radiographic tool for assessing the condition of flexible riser pipes, which are widely used in offshore oil and gas production. Riser failure is both highly costly and very damaging to the environment and following the Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010, new safety legislation has created an impetus to develop new monitoring systems for risers.

RiserSureTM has developed a new subsea digital radiography detector, able to assess the condition of flexible riser pipes to depths of up to 100 meters. This will reduce environmental impact and improve safety of offshore production as well as increase the profitability of operators by reducing leaks and downtime, saving the industry €320m over five years.