TPi September 2015

Oil & gas tubes and pipes

To try to imagine the oil and gas sector without the tube and pipe industry would be an exercise in futility. In addition to oilfield goods including tube, casing, drill pipe, drill collars and line pipe, oilfield work calls for tubing couplings, tubing hangers, tubing pumps, tubing heads, and a variety of other essentials without which oil and gas exploration and recovery would grind to a halt. The scope of that activity and its outsize equipment should not obscure the contribution of those meticulously engineered smaller components. Take the example of a tubing head: a vital element of the wellhead assembly that supports the tubing string, seals off pressure between the casing and the outside of the tubing, and provides a connection that supports the Christmas tree. That is much to ask of a flanged fitting, especially since the top spool on the assembly contains the highest pressure in the wellhead. But the tubing head delivers – as it must. With technology accelerating the capabilities in oilfield production at an unprecedented rate, drilling efficiency requires it.