3M Glass Bubblesfor Insulation & Buoyancy

3m glass bubbles for insulation and buoyancy application

Keep your profits flowing.

3M™ Glass Bubbles enhance offshore oil and gas production with advanced syntactic foam solutions, offering reliable offshore insulation and buoyancy in deepwater environments.

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3M™ Glass Bubbles are supported by our global sales, technical and customer service resources. Contact a sales rep for more information, including formulation assistance or questions about a specific application.

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Thermal Insulation
The need to operate at greater depths and with longer subsea tiebacks in turn requires strong, lightweight flowline and riser insulation with lower heat transfer. Compared to bulky, heavy pipe-in-pipe constructions, wet pipe insulation incorporating 3M™ Glass Bubbles is both easier and more economical to lay. Less than half the weight of pipe-in-pipe, these flexible flowlines offer a practical alternative that is easier to support in deep waters. Plus, the more compact construction means more pipe can be wound per spool, potentially requiring fewer and smaller ships for installation.

Subsea flowlines

Lighter weight, cost-effective alternative to pipe-in-pipe constructions

Smaller pipeline diameter; more pipe wound per spool

Production risers

Achieve OHTC (U values) of 2 W/m^2 K and below

Steel Caternary Risers (SCRs), Top-Tensioned Risers (TTRs) and riser towers
Buoyancy
With an optimal balance of high strength and low density, 3M™ Glass Bubbles have become an industry-standard additive for syntactic foams used in buoyancy modules, buoys or buoyancy blocks for undersea vehicles. When 3M™ Glass Bubbles are formulated with resin, the resultant syntactic foam has a high strength-to-density ratio to provide maximum net buoyancy for a given depth rating.

Buoyancy modules for drill risers

Helps prevent the steel casing from collapsing under its own weight at depth

Helps protect the drill string against ocean currents

Distributed Buoyancy Modules (DBMs)

Potential for maximum lift at the required ocean depth

Buoyancy blocks for Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs)

High net buoyancy foams rated to any ocean depth