TPi May 2015

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business & market news
24 Tube Products International May 2015
FlexTech in double contract win
Flexible pipe specialist FlexTech had an
encouraging start to 2015 by securing
contracts worth in excess of £250,000.
The projects, with two oil and gas
majors, will take place both on- and
offshore, supporting operations in the
UK and the North Sea. FlexTech will
execute flexible pipe and flexible pipe
integrity work, covering offshore annulus
testing and onshore life extension of
flexible and subsea assets.
FlexTech engineering director Craig
Keyworth commented, “The contracts
separately cover two- and three-year
service agreements with clients who
the team has previously worked with,
representing a solid commitment from
our customers. In the current market,
relationship building is imperative, and
at FlexTech we strive to offer significant
advantages to our clients.”
The company, which was established
in 2013 and has bases in Aberdeen
and Lincolnshire, UK, offers a complete
full life cycle experience, from project
inception to decommission and
disposal. Its core business is the delivery
of flexible pipe and riser engineering
projects, offloading systems and
integrity management and inspection. It
also has a range of products designed
to facilitate ease of installation, ensure
operational integrity and prolong the life
of the flexible in field.
FlexTech currently has a team of 12
subsea and marine specialists, and aims
to add a further five employees within
the next 12 months. Its management
team has more than 50 years’ combined
experience in the oil and gas industry.
Flextech Ltd – UK
Craig Keyworth, FlexTech’s engineering director
Russian API grade pipe
producer selects Thermatool
A Thermatool three-stage (1,500kW)
seam annealing system has been
selected by a Russian producer of API
grade pipe.
The latest Thermatool seam annealing
technology will be delivered by
Inductotherm Heating & Welding Ltd,
with commissioning and service support
provided locally by Inductotherm Group
Russia engineers.
Hundreds of Thermatool seam annealers
are used to produce API line pipe and
casing products around the world.
The Russian producer is assured of no
untempered martensite in the weld HAZ
and optimised weld section Charpy
impact results for demanding material
applications. The precision automated
carriage positioning system allows
all three heat stations to be quickly
adjusted to position the inductors over
the seam of the pipe, both laterally and
orbitally, to ensure maximum yield and
minimised scrap created after a mill
stop. Power is provided by Thermatool’s
Variable Inductance Power (VIP) power
supply technology.
VIP induction power supplies provide
optimised matching to thin and heavy
wall API pipe, and each power supply
can be independently controlled from a
single central console.
Inductotherm Heating & Welding Ltd
– UK
Inductotherm Group Russia