3M plans to expand production with new plant in Brazil

30 November 2011: In response to rapidly accelerating demand, 3M has opened a new plant in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, to ramp up its production of 3M™ Glass Bubbles designed for use as a lightweight, ultra-high-strength filler in pipe insulation, drilling fluids, drill riser buoyancy and cementing operations for oil and gas exploration and development.

3M Glass Bubbles are hollow glass microspheres used in applications that enable deep-sea oil and gas drillers to operate at greater depths than ever before because of their crush resistance at extreme ocean depths and a host of other characteristics, including low density, buoyancy and thermal insulation capability. They are chemically inert and therefore resistant to corrosion. On land, 3M Glass Bubbles increasingly are used in lieu of conventional aerated fluids for improved recovery operations in near-depleted fields. With simplicity of use as a dominant feature, they can be added to virtually any type of existing fluid system to reduce its density and create a lightweight yet incompressible fluid. Brazil becomes the fourth country and fifth plant where 3M Glass Bubbles are produced, joining the United States, France and South Korea.

Source: Yourindustrynews