News Release Details

Second consecutive subsea pipe-in-pipe collaboration between these industry leaders

(Boston, MA and Houston, TX) May 3, 2010 – Cabot Corporation’s Aerogel Business today announced that its patented Compression Pack™ product containing Nanogel® aerogel has been selected by Helix Energy Solution Group, Inc, to insulate 33 kilometers of subsea flowlines for the Newfield Exploration Company - operated Gladden deepwater development project located in Block 800 of the Mississippi Canyon, Gulf of Mexico.

The project marks the second consecutive subsea pipe-in-pipe collaboration between Cabot Aerogel and Helix following the successful installation of the Danny field development also located in the Gulf of Mexico. “Upon completion of the Danny project we had no doubt that we wanted to replicate the successful use of the Compression Pack product in our next project,” stated Joe Mazzola, Helix General Manager for Shorebased Facilities. “We were impressed with the product’s versatility and Cabot’s technical expertise.”

Helix Energy Solutions has been contracted by Newfield to install a 5” x 8” PIP configuration 103,000 feet in length for the Gladden field from Mississippi Canyon 758 and 800. Gladden is located in 3,116 feet (960 meters) of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 800 and was discovered in early 2008. Gladden is being developed as a subsea tieback to the ATP Innovator at the Gomez Hub. Newfield is the operator of the Gladden field and holds a 47.5% interest.

Cabot’s Compression Pack product assembly facility, located in Billerica, MA will manufacture and deliver the product to the Helix spoolbase in Ingleside, TX. The 16,000 square foot assembly facility began production in April 2008 and following the completion of the Gladden project, will have delivered more than 250 kilometers of insulation for subsea projects located in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Angola.

“Cabot is pleased to be working again with Helix on a subsea pipe-in-pipe installation. Having Helix choose the Compression Pack product for the Gladden project, our second collaboration, demonstrates the market’s recognition of the benefits of the product’s superior qualities and Cabot’s commitment to the highest levels of customer service,” said Aled Rees, Commercial Director of Cabot Aerogel.

The Nanogel aerogel Compression Pack product consists of compressed Nanogel granules with an integrated protective outer layer to provide durability and consistency of form. These packs are applied to sections of inner pipe, and then expanded to their precise final forms prior to insertion of the insulated inner pipes into outer pipes. The ultra-low conductivity of Nanogel aerogel is a key enabler of the flowline designs, which have specified U-values that can range from 0.50 W/m2·K to 2.00 W/m2·K while maintaining relatively small outer jacket pipes. Additionally, the rugged design of the Compression Pack product makes it well-suited for pipe-in-pipe applications where weld slag, scale, and other factors can pose significant challenges or create delays for systems using less durable products. Finally, the integrated attachment mechanism makes installing the product to precise tolerances an easy and efficient task without any need for specialized training.

What is Nanogel® aerogel?
Sometimes called “frozen smoke”, aerogel is the lightest and best insulating solid in the world. Nanogel aerogel, Cabot’s branded aerogel, is a hydrophobic aerogel produced as particles. Each particle consists largely of air (>90%) contained in a nanostructure with pore sizes less than the mean free path of air molecules, which severely inhibits heat transfer through the material. Nanogel particles can be contained in various ways to facilitate incorporation into a wide range of systems including pipe-in-pipe systems, LNG & cryogenic gas transportation and storage systems, insulative coatings, daylighting panels, sporting equipment, clothing, and others. Cabot produces Nanogel aerogel in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located near Frankfurt, Germany where it began commercial production in 2003. For more information, visit: www.nanogel.com.

About Cabot Corporation
Cabot’s Aerogel Business is a business of Cabot Corporation. Cabot Corporation is a global performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Cabot's major products include carbon black, fumed silica, inkjet colorants, capacitor materials, aerogel, and cesium formate drilling fluids. The website address is: www.cabot-corp.com.

Contact: Hilary Thorne Banda
Marketing Communications Manager
Cabot Aerogel
157 Concord Road
Billerica, MA 01821
Phone: 978.670.6113
Fax: 978.670.7045
Email: hilary_banda@cabot-corp.com