The driver for the new JIP with DNV GL is to explore cost savings by use of high frequency welded/submerged arc welded pipes.

Within the envelope of production parameters, these may be a very attractive alternative to the traditional seamless pipes, due to their lower cost and shorter delivery time.

The JIP has drawn the interest from pipe manufacturers and installation contractors and operators including Corinth PipeWorks, EMAS, JFE-Steel, Sumitomo, Tata Steel and Tenaris/Tamsa.

"Though there is a considerable amount of research and full-scale reeling trials for the use of HFW or SAW linepipe, as well as a good track record in terms of executed projects, a joint systematic approach to optimize the design of these linepipe for reeling is lacking," DNV GL vice president - pipeline technology Leif Collberg said.

The study could see saving of up to 30%, potentially saving up to $10 million for a 30km flowline.

In today's cost constrained climate, the subsea and pipeline sectors are actively looking at alternative means to drive down costs, cut complexity and reduce project overruns, such as utilising affordable composite components for the subsea sector.

Another JIP, partly funded by the Research Council of Norway and supported by a range of companies including Statoil, Petrobras and Petronas, will look at affordable composites aims to reduce the cost of qualifying composite components for subsea use by replacing large scale tests with certification by simulation.

The project, which could potentially deliver a 40-50% cost saving for certification and qualification of subsea composite components, will seek to validate new advanced material models by experimentation, with the main focus on predicting chemical ageing.

"Composite components require full-scale testing to document long-term properties to achieve certification," DNV GL principal engineer Jan Weitzenbock said.

Weitzenbock said a typical qualification campaign for a subsea composite component can cost up to $17 million.

DNV GL will also develop processes to accept mathematical material models in the certification process.

This will be documented in a revised edition of the DNV GL offshore standard for composite components.