Coatings for every need

Dennis Snijders of PPG Protective & Marine Coatings is telling us how his company is keeping up with the times by developing innovative and improved coating solutions for demanding needs of oil and gas sector.

How would you say the market for coatings in the oil and gas industry has developed in recent years and what has driven this demand?
Dennis Snijders. PPG Protective & Marine Coatings has experienced higher demands from coatings and linings as a result of improved exploration recovery techniques, where higher temperatures and more aggressive forms of crude oil are retrieved. As a forward-looking company we anticipated this situation by developing solvent-free epoxy phenolic tanklinings and pipe coatings to meet these demands.

Not only that, but there are more demanding regulations to preserve the environment and protect health of applicators, all of which are supported by our new solvent-free technology with zero levels of VOC emission during application.

The O&G industry operates in some very harsh and inhospitable parts of the Russian Federation and Caspian Sea region. What challenges does this create for your company?
Exceptional conditions demand that we are able to provide technically superior coating solutions at all times. We're proud to say that our protective coatings solutions have been proven in the most extreme situations around the world from the early days of oil exploration to the present day.

If you look at our track record you'll see that we provided protective coatings solutions in all major exploration areas worldwide, from the first platforms in the Gulf of Mexico to the harsh conditions in Siberia and the Middle East. Take for example our flexible hydrocarbon fire intumescent coating that provides improved mechanical resistance and flexibility at low temperature exposure. And our ultra-low temperature curing epoxies, like the phenalkemine technology-based Amercoat 240, allow construction maintenance to be carried out in extreme conditions.

So you can see that with the right coating solutions, together with professional Technical Field Service Support on the ground, we're fully equipped with a total package to provide superior durable protection of our customers' assets - wherever they operate.

Could you explain how your products are being utilized in the region by the industry and where you see must demand in the future?
Our products protect critical industrial investments to ensure long-term reliable operation. Such critical facilities are, for example tankfarms from Lukoil Vysotsk or Primorsk, pipelines in the Kharyaga oilfield, the new passenger terminal of Vnukovo airport and oil production platforms in the Karachaganak and Tengiz oilfields in Kazakhstan. Importantly, to make sure that our customers enjoy the reliable and timely supply of our PPG Protective & Marine Coatings products in the region, we work with large, well-trained distribution partners that operate a nationwide network of outlets.

Industry today demands an increased service life from our coatings. To answer that need, we can provide coatings solutions that have a service life of 15 years (maintenance-free) and more.

Are there any new developments in the coatings sector that you are working on or developing for the future? How will these benefit the O&G industry?
At PPG Protective & Marine Coatings we focus on customer needs and innovation. The increasing demands from the industry, combined with new compositional legislations from certification institutes and governmental institutes require us to continuously develop improved technologies.

As a result, we have a range of new products under development for lining tanks and pipes, corrosion resistance and fire protection. We have new products like Amercoat 240, NovaGuard 890 and SigmaCover 1000 which have been recently launched on the market. Also, another technology recently introduced on the market is our Thin Film Intumescent Fire Protection coating that is specified to protect steelstructures in the case of a Cellulosic type fire. 

Dennis Snijders is responsible for sales development of protective coatings within the Russian Federation. He has spent his entire working career at Sigma Coatings, which became part of PPG Industries in 2008. Now as Area Manager Russian Federation, Snijders is responsible for setting up organisations in Moscow and St. Petersburg to support the growing need for the company's protective coatings solutions in the Russian oil and gas market.