TPT January 2023

Business & market news

Tube industry to benefit from high strength austenitic stainless steel development

A new series of high strength austenitic stainless steels has been developed with the aim of transforming how materials are specified and utilised across the oil & gas sector. The N’GENIUS Series™ represents a reinvention of conventional austenitic stainless steels and has been designed to out-perform the majority of existing grades in the 300 Series – the corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) line pipe grades currently available for selection in the API Specification 5LC and the DNV ST-F101 standard, plus the CRA oil country tubular goods (OCTG) in the API Specification 5CT for casing and tubing. Dr CV Roscoe, inventor of the original 25Cr super-duplex stainless steel and CEO of N’GENIUS Materials Technology, said: “The extensive range of alloy types, variants and grades in the N’GENIUS Series™ of high strength austenitic stainless steels have strength properties equivalent to duplex and super-duplex stainless steels, ductility and toughness levels normally associated with conventional austenitic stainless steels but with far superior corrosion resistance to suit all major oil & gas projects. “The engineering significance of the N’GENIUS Series™ for onshore and offshore CRA pipeline projects, subsea production systems and OCTG for CRA casing and tubing is truly astounding. “Also design engineers considering the best way to develop major offshore projects utilising potential combinations of Platforms, FPSO vessels or FLNG vessels can take advantage of the high strength properties of the N’GENIUS Series™ to reduce topside weight for all the piping systems, modules, engineered products and fabricated equipment. This enables the engineering design and construction of the projects to be optimised thus leading to an overall reduction in the costs of the projects.” Patent protected in 30 countries globally, the N’GENIUS Series™ has key engineering design characteristics, which allow a range of product forms and ancillary equipment to be designed, specified, manufactured and supplied with the objective of reducing wall thicknesses and overall size, using less material and producing

The combination of mechanical strength and corrosion resistance properties can change the materials selection philosophy for oil & gas industry projects throughout the world

As are fabricated products such as offshore topside systems including spools, modules, static risers, process piping systems, seawater cooling systems, firewater systems, filtration systems, heat exchangers and various ancillary equipment including tanks, vessels and structures. The N’GENIUS Series™ of CRA line pipe grades, which can be available in both seamless and welded product forms, will provide a virtually unlimited choice of high strength austenitic stainless steels for industry specialists to select from and help satisfy the growing demand for high-performance stainless steels that are stronger, last longer and are better for the planet. Specifically, the N’GENIUS Series™ of CRA line pipe grades will address the need for a much wider selection of CRA line pipe materials that are suitable in a wide range of service conditions and process media environments for all types of onshore projects and offshore projects in shallow, deep and ultra-deep water that can be installed using the various installation methods including S-lay, J-lay, Reel-lay and subsea Bundle installation techniques. The N’GENIUS Series™ is available to be manufactured under licence by premier manufacturers of stainless steel products. N’GENIUS Materials Technology www.ngeniusmaterials.com

lighter products. This makes products easier to handle and transport to site, leading to weight savings, an overall reduction in construction and project costs and – perhaps most importantly – contributing to lower carbon emissions and a greener world. Thecorrosion resistanceof theN’GENIUS Series™ will also improve the through life costs and extend the service-life and environmental sustainability of these projects. The combination of mechanical strength and corrosion resistance properties of the N’GENIUS Series™ will fundamentally change the materials selection philosophy for oil & gas industry projects throughout the world, including all major upstream, midstream and downstream developments. In terms of oil & gas production system design, the N’GENIUS Series™ has been developed to be the total system material solution. A vast array of wrought and cast products and equipment can be manufactured and supplied in the N’GENIUS Series™ for onshore and offshore oil & gas production systems. Subsea umbilicals, catenary risers and flowlines, manifolds, subsea bundles, well heads, fittings, flanges, compact flanges, hub connectors and engineered products such as pumps and valves are among these products and equipment.

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January 2023 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL