3M Cable Jointing In The Oil & Gas Industry

Power supplied by electric cables is the lifeblood of the oil and gas industry : uninterrupted power ensures oil and gas production, processing, transportation, storage and distribution. However, cables are vulnerable to damage and degradation in harsh onshore and offshore operating conditions.  Cable failure is catastrophic. Cable related problems are costly and are often caused by inadequate risk identification, sub-standard design or deficiencies in installation technique. Whatever your currency, cable failures cost millions. The financial costs, both direct and consequential, can be painfully calculated. The reputational loss is immeasurable. Unplanned shutdowns or suspended production caused by electrical power outages associated with cable failures can and does inflict devastating revenue losses on the oil and gas industry. 3M have a proven history in providing tested and trusted solutions for the jointing and terminating of cables in the oil and gas industry.

Thorne & Derrick are 3M's largest UK stockist for their range of 3M Scotchcast Cable Joints, Terminations & Abandonment Kits for installation in safe or hazardous area zones encountered in the oil and gas industry.

Consequently, Thorne & Derrick are regularly requested to provide specification guidance and technical support for the cable jointing of power, control and instrumentation cables in Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous areas.

In this article we shall focus on why, when and where 3M Scotchcast cable joints are the established solution for jointing low voltage power, control and instrumentation cables in the global oil and gas industry.

The usual questions posed by electrical engineers are :

"Do You Stock ATEX Cable Joints?"

or

"Which Cable Joint Is Best Suited For Hazardous Areas?"

Let Thorne & Derrick Clarify & Advise....

According to Sira Ex Certification Manager, "cable joints do not come under ATEX 94/9/EC as they are classed as part of the cabling system." Sira is a world leader in the conformity assessment solutions field, specialising in explosion safety of equipment used in potentially explosive atmospheres (ATEX & IECEx). Cables are not certified for use in hazardous areas but the requirements for suitable cables and cable joints are covered in EN IEC 60079-14, Installation In Hazardous Areas. Effectively this implies the jointing of cables in hazardous areas are covered under good practice according to DSEAR (ATEX 137) regulations.

DSEAR ATEX 137 - European Directive For The Protection Of Workers Potentially At Risk From Explosive Atmospheres (Sira)

ATEX Demystified

3M cable joints and more generally cable accessories (cable terminations, cable joints, cable abandonments) are not within the scope of the ATEX 94/9/EC directive.

The ATEX Directive covers a broad range of Electrical Equipment for installation in hazardous areas encountered in market sectors such as offshore oil rigs, gas platforms, onshore oil refineries, petrochemical plants, underground coal mines, flourmills and other areas where a potentially explosive atmosphere may be present.

In broad terms, there are 3 pre-conditions for the ATEX Directive to apply :

• Equipment must have its own source of ignition ;
• Be intended for use in a potentially explosive atmosphere (air mixtures) ; and
• Be under normal atmospheric conditions

When used as directed, 3M cable joints do not have a source of ignition - 3M Electrical Products provide ongoing cable jointer training to ensure installer familiarity with "best-practice" for hazardous area cable jointing.

The firing of an explosive atmosphere may be caused by a short circuit, but when cable joints are installed according to the joint kit instructions, 3M cable joints are safe against short circuits. 3M cable joints can be expected to demonstrate faultless service for the entire lifecycle of the cable installation.

Why Specify & Install 3M Resin Cable Joints In Hazardous Areas?

A Shutdown Postmortem.

Following shutdown disruptions the real challenge is to identify the cause to avoid history repeating itself via a technique often referred to as Root Cause Analysis (RCA).

Pin-pointing a cable failure to a specific set of causes can enable planning to prevent future recurring failures. RCA should drive up operational reliability and kill the original cause of the disaster.

The dangers of under-specified cable joints for oil and gas industry installations cannot be under-estimated.

An oil company was experiencing problems with the earth continuity of a low voltage feeder. The problem was narrowed down to a heat shrink cable joint. On investigation it was obvious the heat shrink material had not reacted well to the years of hydrocarbon attack. The butyl mastic inner fill had turned to a sticky paste and the inner, connector insulation tubes had also suffered advanced degradation.

Video Training : Jointing Power Cable In Hazardous Area Using 3M Scotchcast Cable Joints (LVI3 Series)

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