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BREAKING NEWS
Australian Claim Forces AkzoNobel into Making Major Loss Provision [PDF]
Akzo Nobel N.V. Q3 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Highlights
Turning now to Slide 8. “We’ve taken a EUR 300 million provision in Q3 related to this long-running litigation case in Australia. The claim relates to coating degradation on pipework at the Ichthys LNG project in Darwin, Australia. Our coatings were applied between 2013 and 2015. The main plaintiff, INPEX, initiated legal proceedings in 2021 under Australian Consumer Law, seeking damages from AkzoNobel. We want to emphasize again that AkzoNobel denies all liability, and is defending the matter vigorously. Our expectation is for first instance judgment in the second half of 2026 at the earliest, and appeals are likely regardless of the outcome. We recognized a EUR 300 million provision in Q3 2025. This provision relates to the elements in the claims for which the IAS 37 accounting criteria are met. Other elements not meeting the requirements are presented as contingent liabilities. AkzoNobel is insured with a maximum coverage of EUR 500 million were represented as a provision or as a contingent liability. This is obviously a noncash accounting charge in the quarter. It doesn’t affect our operational performance or the underlying momentum of the business, and we remain steadfast in our legal position and defence.”
Akzo Nobel CEO Grégoire Poux-Guillaume said Australian Legal Case is Unique
He is quoted as saying “It’s not a precedent for anything. It’s a very, very particular situation, which is linked to an unusual element. I’ll call it unusual for lack of a better word, but an unusual element of Australian law, which is that like a big Japanese LNG company can hide behind Australian consumer laws, which have been drafted to protect, you know, the Australian grandmother, to essentially go after a provider. The reason why this is such an unusual case is that I’m not aware of anywhere else in the world where you could actually do that. There’s nothing wrong with the product that was applied. We don’t have any other cases of this product being an issue. This is from 12 years ago. It’s a really kind of really specific issue to Australia. It’s irritating because it takes a lot of time. It generates a lot of legal fees. It forces us to give regular updates on something which is a more significant risk than anything you should see in a paint and coatings company because we’re not a projects business. Once again, it’s very specific to this situation and is not something that I see happening anywhere else or not something that we have anything else of any similar scale, magnitude, or even nature anywhere else in our portfolio.”
AkzoNobel Q3 Profit Falls on €300M Legal Hit, Keeps €1.48B Outlook
INDUSTRY NEWS
New AI Program for the Protective Coatings Industry
First to market application to create your own secure private vault for your technical literature and specifications
AkzoNobel Plans Further Asset Sales as it Trims Guidance for 2025 | Reuters
Hempel Launches Hempaline™ Defend 430 Tank Lining for Energy Storage Applications
Jotun’s SeaQuantum X200 Achieves Industry Leading Speed Loss Verification from DNV
Capital Research Holds 6.14% of Shares in Chugoku Marine Paints (CMP)
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
Research Progress of Polymer-Based Coatings for Anti-Corrosion Application: A Mini Review
Dual-Functional Epoxy Coating with Dispersed Tannic Acid-Modified Carbon Nanotubes Barriers
COATINGS FAILURE ANALYSIS
Exploring Epoxy Coating Failures with ExcelPlas Labs
While epoxy coatings are generally durable and effective at preventing corrosion, there are a few common types of epoxy coating failures that can occur:
- Adhesion failure: This occurs when the epoxy coating fails to properly adhere to the surface of the pipe, which can be caused by factors such as improper surface preparation or a poorly formulated coating. Adhesion failure can result in the coating peeling or flaking off, exposing the underlying steel surface to corrosion.
- Blistering: This occurs when small bubbles or blisters form on the surface of the epoxy coating, which can be caused by improper surface preparation, moisture contamination, or excessive heat during curing.
- Cracking: This occurs when the epoxy coating develops small cracks, which can be caused by factors such as thermal expansion and contraction, improper coating thickness, or exposure to chemicals.
- Delamination: This occurs due to intercoat or interfacial adhesion failure due to the presence of a weak boundary layer such as silicone or hydrocarbon oil contamination.
Failure Analysis and Investigation of Protective Coatings in Mining, Marine Offshore Oil & Gas Chemical Plants, Energy Infrastructure and Bridges (Ask the Experts)
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Critical Questions for Protective Coatings for Asset Protection in Oil & Gas, LNG:
- Why is the coating not stopping corrosion?
- Why is the coating delaminating or blistering?
- Has the coating been correctly specified / applied?
- Does the coating meet the manufacturing standard, including properties such as correct hardness/cure, adhesion and thickness?
- What surface preparation and atmospheric conditions must be achieved to successfully apply the coating?
- Does the coating have any defects in it? How will these affect performance?
- Why did the coating fail? Root cause assessment.
- How can the coating be successfully repaired/remediated so that it doesn’t fail again?
ExcelPlas Labs can answer these questions and more…
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This newsletter is brought to you by ExcelPlas Coating Labs (http://www.excelplas.com/)
ExcelPlas Labs provides independent testing, analysis, and investigation on protective coatings to prevent corrosion.
ExcelPlas has extensive analytical capabilities for testing of Protective Coatings and Insulation Consulting for major oil and gas companies.
We conduct corrosion surveys, coating sampling, coating analysis, and testing to ensure coating specifications for a wide range of onshore and offshore clients in Australia and the Asia-Pacific Region.
ExcelPlas Labs offer a full range of coating testing and analytical services to Australia’s mining, oil, gas, and infrastructure sectors.
Forensic analysis for undertaking various coating-based failure investigations and problem-solving.
ExcelPlas Undertakes Analysis & Testing of Polymer Coating Systems including:
- Epoxy Protective Coatings
- Epoxy-Phenolic Protective Coatings
- Fusion bonded epoxy (FBE)
- Dual-Layer Fusion bonded epoxy (DLFBE)
- Liquid applied epoxy (LAE)
- Abrasion-resistant overcoat (ARO)
- Three-layer PE (3LPE)
- Multi-component liquid spray (MCL)
- Heat shrink sleeves (HSS)
Testing on Coatings that ExcelPlas can Undertake includes:
- Coating identification by Infra-red Analysis (FTIR)
- Degree of Cure by Thermal Analysis (DSC)
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- Coating Microstructure by Embedding, Polishing, and Optical Microscopy (OM)
- Coating Thermal Stability and Composition by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)
DSC – Phase transition/volatiles / Tg / degree of cure/characterisation
TGA – Volatile compounds, inorganic mass % mix ratio
Element mapping for chlorides on paint flakes
Microscopy -Count layers and thickness of layers
- Assess porosity and voids
- Check distribution and orientation of filler particles
Condition monitoring and analysis of corrosion prevention coatings (epoxies, epoxy-phenolics)
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Testing of Epoxy Coatings (LAE, FJC, FBE), heat shrink sleeves and tapes, barrier tapes, and meshes.
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