TPi November 2021

The stop-start nature of economic and social activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic has affected oil prices and severely impacted the oil & gas industry. Several short-term projects have been cancelled or post- poned as operators look to minimise spending on uneco- nomic short-term ventures and focus on the long term. This has had a significant impact on the line pipe steel manufacturing industry supply chain. business intelligence company Rystad Energy has estimated global demand for oil country tubular goods (OCTG) will bottom out this year before edging up again in 2022. Despite the current chal- lenges, line pipe supply chain companies can maximise the present to prepare for a return to increased activity in future. Research and

Making the most of today to improve tomorrow in line pipe steel manufacture By Barry Rust, marketing manager energy & sustainability, Tata Steel

Incremental improvements Driving improvements, particularly in existing products, has been a key focus. This can vary from basic housekeeping to utilising mill time for trial works to support a better understandingof product capabilities or to extendperformance envelopes. For example, there is significant demand for thicker wall pipes for particular applications in mature markets such as the North Sea. However, the complete through supply chain assessment of capability, undertaking the trials in a socially distanced environment and optimising the manufacturing process to deliver a tight tolerance HFI welded solution in a pipe thicknesses 10 per cent greater than in the past – and then repeating this for a range of line pipe steel grades – is not a simple task. Despite these challenges, Tata Steel recently managed to manufacture and launch a high frequency induction (HFI) line pipe with an increased wall thickness for onshore applications and hollows for structural application. An offshore version of the line pipe is due to be launched later this year. An integrated supply chain One of the advantages of an integrated supply chain is the ability to mobilise and run trials quickly through complete steel, coil and pipe making operations. This allows the acceleration of product development.

Small-scale steel making capabilities (for example quantities as low as 10kg) enable fast and finely tuned alterations to the steel composition to achieve the required properties before quickly increasing to commercial scale through the use of integrated facilities. An increased focus on efficiency and whole life cost supports the use of HFI pipe over seamless, where possible. In the construction of the line pipe, for example, HFI’s improved fit up capabilities can lead to a faster and more efficient welding process with a resultant reduction in expenditure. For offshore applications, where the costs can be significantly higher than onshore, such benefits are extremely important. Superior tolerances allow for the purchase of thinner wall HFI welded solutions, compared to seamless, while still meeting minimum design thicknesses. This can provide both material and cost saving advantages for HFI against seamless pipe, which can be further enhanced by effective supply chain collaboration. New product development Another area of focus has been on developing new products, ensuring they are ‘future ready’ for whatever the industry’s long-term requirements might be. Such activity would include the increasing demands for lower temperature applications, the provision of sour service pipelines and an increase in the toughness of line pipe.

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL November 2021

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