Pemex orders custom fire-fighting rigs for Gulf platforms
  by: OilOnline
  Thursday, April 24, 2008

Offshore oil/gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico will soon be protected by special fire-fighting rigs produced by the Fire Combat division of Minneapolis-based Sensor Electronics.

The rigs are customer-engineered for Pemex, the Mexican national oil company.

Initially Fire Combat is furnishing fire-suppression systems for a dozen offshore platforms, said Scott Hornick, executive vice president of Fire Combat. Plans are to eventually fit 75 Pemex platforms with the special rigs, he added.

Each rig holds 2000 pounds of dry chemical propelled by the nitrogen-charged tanks. Because the rigs are completely self-contained, they need no external piping, plumbing or electrical connections, Hornick said.

Each rig is mounted on a heavy steel frame; a special lift cage allows rigs to be repositioned on a platform, or even moved from one platform to another as needs change, Hornick said.

A single charge of dry chemical can "flood" a 3000-square-foot platform for 7 minutes, effectively quenching even stubborn petroleum or electrical fires, he said.

Rigs are designed to shrug off tropical heat, high humidity and corrosive salt spray, he added.

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