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Halogen Free Options

Halogen Free Options

Halogen-free low-smoke (LSZH) cables for oil & gas: standards, variants and selection guide

Fires on rigs, FPSOs and refineries are bad enough; corrosive fumes that eat electronics and obscure escape routes make matters worse. Halogen-free low-smoke zero-halogen (LSZH) cables solve that problem by replacing PVC or chlorinated elastomers with specially formulated polyolefins that produce almost no hydrogen-halide acid and only a light, translucent smoke when burned. For control rooms packed with PLCs, living quarters full of people and topside trays routing hundreds of circuits, halogen-free construction is now the default choice rather than a premium extra.
industry-solutions

1. What “halogen-free” really means
A cable may only carry the LSZH label after it passes two chemical benchmarks:
  • IEC 60754-1/-2 – less than 0.5 % halogen acid by mass and a pH > 4.3 in a controlled combustion test.
  • IEC 61034-1/-2 – light-transmittance in a 3 m cube ≥ 60 %, proving low smoke density.
The absence of chlorine, fluorine and bromine means flames do not generate HCl or HF, so copper busbars, bearings and aluminium wall panels are not etched by acid condensate and emergency crews can see more than an arm’s length ahead when they enter a burning module.

2. Standards that govern halogen-free offshore cables
Area Key standard Why it matters Typical requirement
Sheath materials IEC 60092-360 Defines SHF1 (thermoplastic) and SHF2 (cross-linked, mud-resistant)
halogen-free jackets for ship & offshore use. 		Choice of compound, oil‐immersion limits
Offshore package NEK TS 606 Adds 56-day drilling-mud soak, UV, ozone and –40 °C cold bend
to IEC 60092 for North Sea rigs. 		RFOU/BFOU design baseline
Flame spread IEC 60332-3 Cat. A/B Tests bunched cables; Cat. A is standard for trays on FPSOs. Pass/fail on 1.5 m test ladder
Class societies such as DNV incorporate the same smoke and halogen limits into their type-approval programmes (CP-0400, CP-0419).

3. SHF1 vs SHF2 – the two halogen-free jackets you will meet
  • SHF1 – halogen-free thermoplastic polyolefin: hard, economical, suited to dry or sheltered zones such as MCC rooms.
  • SHF2 – halogen-free cross-linked elastomer: flexible, hydrocarbon- and mud-resistant, survives 100 °C oil-soak with ≤ 40 % change in tensile/elongation and is therefore mandated for open-deck trays and splash zones.
Edition 5 of NEK 606 even defines three performance tiers for SHF2 (basic oil, enhanced oil, mud). SHF2 is consequently the de-facto choice for RFOU/BFOU power, control and instrumentation cables on modern offshore facilities.

4. Halogen-free cable families used in oil & gas
Designation Construction snapshot Typical use
RFOU (LSZH) EPR insulated pairs/cores, tinned-copper
braid armour, SHF2 jacket 		General power & I/O where flame-spread and mud
resistance are concerns
BFOU RFOU + mica/glass tape fire barrier
(90 min circuit integrity) 		E-stop, PA/GA, fire-pump feeders
FRHF / RFA-FRHF Lightweight 0.6/1 kV or 150/250 V LSZH
cables sized for DNV CP-0400 		Lighting, telecoms, instrument loops inside
accommodation
LSZH Cat-6A / fibre (SHF1/2) Pair-screened Ethernet or loose-tube fibre
with LSZH armour & sheath 		Digital oil-field networks and CCTV on topsides
IEEE 1580 Type P – HFFR variant EPR cores, bronze armour, neoprene-free
halogen-free XLPO jacket 		North American land rigs needing LSZH compliance

All variants rely on LSZH jackets but differ in armour, insulation and optional fire barriers according to the functional need.

5. Material science: how LSZH compounds fight both fire and chemistry

Halogen-free jackets are metal-hydroxide filled polyolefins. Aluminium or magnesium hydroxide releases water vapour at ~200 °C, cooling and diluting the flame, while the polymer backbone chars instead of dripping. Cross-linking (as in SHF2) raises softening point and blocks oil molecules, explaining its superior mud performance.
Inside the cable, XLPE or EPR insulation is already halogen-free and chars rather than melts, so the entire construction remains acid-free.

Key performance metrics engineers should verify on the datasheet:

  • Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) ≥ 30 % – indicator of self-extinguishing behaviour.
  • Smoke transmittance ≥ 60 % (IEC 61034).
  • ΔE (tensile/elongation) ≤ 40 % after 24 h in IRM 902 oil at 100 °C for SHF2 (IEC 60811-404).

6. Selection checklist for project teams
  • Fire zone classification – accommodation & control rooms always demand LSZH; hydrocarbon process areas usually add SHF2 mud resistance.
  • Circuit integrity – if the cable must keep working during a fire, jump from RFOU to BFOU or add a mica tape.
  • Chemical map – diesel splash only? SHF2 basic oil tier may suffice. Brine-based drilling mud? Specify “SHF2-Mud” level per NEK 606.
  • Voltage & armour – keep LSZH but choose TCWB for EMC-critical loops or SWA for mechanical abuse.
  • Certification – insist on a valid DNV or ABS Type-Approval certificate quoting IEC 60754, 61034 and 60092-360 test passes.

7. Emerging trends
  • Nanoclay-reinforced HFFR compounds push LOI above 35 % while shaving 10 % weight – handy for floating production topsides.
  • Hydrogen-ready jackets are being qualified under an upcoming IEC 60092-360 amendment to tackle permeation from H₂-fuel systems.
  • Bio-based polyolefins lower embodied carbon without compromising halogen-free performance; pilot batches are undergoing NEK 606 mud tests this year.

Conclusion
Halogen-free low-smoke cables deliver a triple win for the oil & gas sector: they protect people, preserve critical electronics and satisfy ever-stricter class and regulatory rules. By understanding the difference between SHF1 and SHF2, matching the IEC/NEK standards to real chemical and fire risks, and verifying third-party certificates, engineers can specify cable systems that avert toxic-fume catastrophes while standing up to the mud, UV and vibration that define offshore life.