ISSN 0967-0912, Steel in Translation, 2007, Vol. 37, No. 11, pp. 963–965. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2007. Original Russian Text © K.A. Semerikov, 2007, published in “Stal’,” 2007, No. 11, pp. 113–116.
Improving Seamless-Pipe Production for the Oil and Gas Industry1 K. A. Semerikov OAO Trubnaya Metallurgicheskaya Kompaniya DOI: 10.3103/S0967091207110162 1 Expansion of the pipe market favors the large-scale reconstruction and creation of new production lines for high-quality steel pipe, meeting rigorous new national and international standards and prospective consumer demand.
Improvement in seamless-pipe production calls for constant monitoring of the pipe market; scientific research on production technologies and requirements; modernization of production so as to create the necessary technological capabilities; the introduction of new products and their establishment in the pipe market; and the organization of post-sales customer service. Otherwise, compliance with current constructional and operational requirements will hardly be possible. Further exploitation of oil and gas reserves calls for deeper and more complex boreholes and more challenging pipe operating conditions. There is also growing demand for pipe with operational properties that exceed the standard requirements. In particular, there is great interest in high-strength pipe, including corrosion- and cold-resistant chrome-steel pipe with very tight joints (of Premium class) for the extraction and transport of products containing carbon dioxide and chromonickel-alloy pipe for high-sulfur oil.
Technological improvements in pipe production are impossible without modernizing existing systems. As a result of an investment program (Fig. 1), TMK plans an increase in production capacity of 2.2 million t by 2010; this increase amounts to ~53% of 2006 capacity. According to the plans, oil-industry pipe will account for more than 60% of this increase (up to 1.6 million t/yr). Overall production capacity for seamless pipe will rise from 2.1 million t/yr in 2006 to 3.4 million t/yr in 2010. The strategic focus of the TMK investment program is expansion of production capacity for seamless pipe, with corresponding increase in efficiency and quality. Currently, TMK does not produce seamless pipe from bottom-cast ingots but supplies high-quality continuous-cast blanks, with 100% ladle treatment of the steel. To improve the quality of seamless pipe, new equipment for heating, thread cutting, chopping, and packing is under development. More than $530 million will be invested in the development of production capacity for seamless pipe, and $430 million in steel smelting. The wisdom of these developments is already apparent. Consider the recent increase in the output of casing
The global market for OCTG threaded oil-industry pipe is around 10 million t/yr, according to estimates. It may be divided into three levels. The first level consists of pipe conforming to API standards and Russian and other national standards. At this level, demand (around 7 million t/yr) is met by producers in China, Russia, Ukraine, and elsewhere. The second level (around 2.3 million t/yr) consists of a higher-technology product—pipe made from special steels with improved threaded joints. Currently, OAO Trubnaya Metallurgicheskaya Kompaniya (TMK) operates at the first and second levels of the market and is ready to break through the next technological barrier and reach the third level. TMK is actively searching for new materials and investing heavily in technological expansion and modernization of production. 1 Based
on materials presented at the Truby-2007 Conference, Chelyabinsk, 2007.
963
Expenditure, millions of dollars 321
1.416 150
2
430
1
530
3
249
513
334 263
2004–2006 2007
43
4 5
2008 2009–2010 Total
Period Fig. 1. Investment program for strategic goals in 2004–2010 (in millions of dollars): (1) expansion of production capacity for seamless pipe; (2) production of large-diameter pipe; (3) modernization of billet production; (4) testing, finishing, and quality control; (5) other.
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SEMERIKOV
Fig. 2. Structure of two-bearing drilling joints.
pipe with TMK Premium threaded joints. The production of such pipe at TMK plants rose from 5500 t in 2003 to 12000 t in 2007. In 2008, the fulfillment of orders for 24000 t is planned. The greater geographic distribution of customers and the growing demand for such pipe calls for further research in this area. TMK continues the active development of technologically complex pipe. Research is underway on highstrength pipe made of special steel of increased corrosion resistance for the transportation of hydrocarbon mixture with a large content of mineralized water, abrasive components, and chemically active impurities (hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, chlorine, etc.) from boreholes, in severe climatic and corrosion conditions. Casing and compressor–pump pipe meeting the very high PSL-2 and PSL-3 requirements of the API standard (spec. 5CT) is now in production. To improve pipe performance, TMK plants, in cooperation with OAO Bugul’minskii Mashinostroitel’nyi Zavod, have introduced the application of TK-34R protective polymer coating on the internal surface of highstrength drilling pipe. At Orsk manufacturing plant, in collaboration with T’yuboskop-Rossiya, the application of antiwear coatings on the outer surface of drilling joints has been introduced. This permits the production of drilling pipe characterized by significantly increased working life and performance matching its best counterparts around the world. In addition, TMK enterprises now produce hightechnology pipe used at deposits whose product contains corrosive components such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. At Taganrog metallurgical plant, for the first time in Russia, L-80SSC casing pipe for L80SSC operating columns at Orenburg oil and gas field is now in production, while C-90SSC pump–compressor pipe is in production at Sinarsk pipe plant.
X-42SS oil and gas pipe for the Astrakhan gas and condensate field is now in production, having passed a complete set of tests, and meets the requirements of the relevant OAO Gazprom commission. The pipe is intended for transportation of gas containing 25% hydrogen sulfide and 15% carbon dioxide from the boreholes and serves to replace imported pipe. It is important to increase the production of borehole pipe for the major overhaul of boreholes and the elimination of drilling accidents. In this context, OAO VNIITneft is conducting stand tests of high-strength drilling pipe with a new design of two-bearing joints (Fig. 2), for lateral shafts and the drilling of smallradius multishaft boreholes. In comparison with standard pipe, drilling pipe with two-bearing joints is characterized by an additional margin of tensile strength and a considerably greater permissible torque, exceeding the torsional strength of the pipe. The use of such pipe at extremely high torque rules out jamming of the joints. The new joint design ensures complete compatibility with joints and connectors that comply with Russian and international standards. As already noted, TMK’s efforts to break through the next technological barrier and reach the third level in terms of quality are associated with promising innovations in casing pipe. The main developments in metallurgical and pipe technologies at TMK plants are associated with the production of OCTG pipe complying with international standards, for the construction of extended inclined boreholes operating at high pressure and temperature; the production of pipe from special steel and alloys for operation in the presence of high concentrations of CO2 and hydrogen sulfide, as well as chlorine compounds, at temperatures above 100°C; and expansion of the range of TMK Premium joints. Currently, there is considerable expansion of drilling on the continental shelf. Typically, inclined boreholes with horizontal sections of more than 10 km are employed here. This approach is more economical than the construction of floating or fixed drilling platforms and hence will be actively pursued, in Russia and elsewhere. The use of new drilling technologies radically changes casing-pipe concepts. Besides the traditional technical requirements, a whole new series of operational requirements must be imposed on the pipe and, in particular, on the threaded joints. For example, the construction of inclined boreholes with large horizontal sections requires extra equipment for pushing the casing column into the drilled borehole shaft. The load experienced by the borehole pipe in such conditions calls for very careful design and industrial production of the pipe. TMK supplies high-strength casing pipe of improved quality for this purpose, fitted with new TMK PF threaded joints (Fig. 3). Such joints are intended for use in connecting oil and gas boreholes under increased flexural and compressive load and excessive torque in the casing-pipe column; in inserting a casing column in STEEL IN TRANSLATION
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IMPROVING SEAMLESS-PIPE PRODUCTION FOR THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
Step 5.08
18°
Cone
hm
ht
ht < hm
Cone 24°
1:16 gap
15°
–4° the line parallel to the thread axis
Fig. 3. TMK PF screw thread for casing pipe.
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large horizontal borehole sections, when the pipe is introduced by means of a press, with rotation of the column by the upper drive of the drilling unit; and in oil fields with high excess pressure, where pipe with VAM TOP threaded joints is traditionally employed. The structure of the TMK PF joint is able to withstand torques 70–75% greater than for Buttress and NEW VAM joints. These few examples confirm TMK’s constant attention to market demand for seamless oil-industry pipe, constantly expanding research, modernization of production, introduction of new products, and continuing staff training.
