The Many Challenges of Today's Steel Pipe and Tubing Supplier

Pipe manufacturers face big challenges in developing and processing materials used in line pipe, drill pipe, and API tubing. The steeltubing supplier has to be prepared with large-diameter, longitudinally welded line pipe for oil and gas transport, and other products that accommodate high operating pressures and severe environmental conditions. Steel must possess high strength, good weldability, and optimized geometry. Does your steel tubing supplier deliver all this? At Corpac Steel Products, we have the technical and logistics expertise to meet demand impeccably.

High Strength Steels: A Brief Overview

High strength steels for use in API tubing, line pipe, and drill pipe benefited from thermomechanical rolling that replaced some hot rolling and normalizing in the 1970s. Alloying steels with niobium and vanadium has reduced carbon content in some steel pipes. Thermomechanical rolling was supplemented with accelerated cooling in the 1980s, making even higher strength materials possible while retaining excellent weldability.

Development and Production of High Strength Steels

The use of molybdenum, nickel, and copper now allow even higher strength steels when the steel is processed into plate form by thermomechanical rolling and accelerated cooling. In general, longitudinally welded line pipe of large diameter is used for petroleum transport because it offers improved safety and better cost effectiveness while permitting high operating pressures for pipeline.

Microstructure in Line Pipe Steel

Conventionally rolled and normalized steels show coarse ferrite grain size with banded ferrite and pearlite. Higher grade rolled steels show more uniform microstructure along with finer ferrite grains. When thermomechanical rolling is followed by accelerated cooling, the result is an even more uniform and very fine microstructure, giving the steel and the pipe and tubing it is made into improved properties including superior strength and safety.

Growth in Global Energy Consumption Necessitates Expert Pipe Logistics

The steel tubing supplier today must keep pipe prices down while providing the highest quality for natural gas and oil transport. Predicted growth in worldwide energy consumption will necessitate steel tubing and line pipe that works in severe environmental conditions, transporting oil and gas to end users. At Corpac Steel Products, we are at the forefront of technology and logistics and ready to meet worldwide challenges today.

Pipeline and Drilling Projects Can't Settle for Less than Superior Products and Services

Petroleum drilling and transport have stepped up worldwide due to increasing demand, particularly in emerging economies like China's and India's. From offshore pipeline to land-based drill strings, the demand for API 5L pipe and related pipe and tubing makes strategic worldwide distribution of these products indispensable to the global economy. At Corpac Steel Products, our reputation is built on meeting demand, keeping costs contained, and consistently meeting or exceeding customer expectations.

The Products

API 5L pipe isn't the whole story, and petroleum isn't the only industry that needs uncompromising steel pipe and tubing products. Locating the products themselves is only the first step. Buyers have to be confident of product quality, and they have to be able to rely on their suppliers to transport the products to the last mile, even if it means crossing international borders multiple times on the way.

The Costs

Costs must be considered in context. A low price on a product doesn't mean anything if the product arrives late and puts a project behind schedule. Costs must be evaluated along with reputation, networks, logistics, and experience to be meaningful to a particular project. That said, there are suppliers who are able to keep a lid on costs through exemplary efficiency and worldwide networks of manufacturing and inventory location.

The Logistics

Not all steel pipe and tubing suppliers have the logistics expertise to cope flawlessly with the demands from an offshore pipeline project or construction of a steel structure in a remote location. It's best if you know the name of your supplier's logistics coordinator and have a point of contact that you don't have to educate about your requirements. Logistics expertise saves time, and time is money, particularly with major drilling or infrastructure projects.

The Worldwide Network

Your project may be located in a remote part of the world, so getting your steel pipe and tubing, or structural steel products delivered in a timely manner often depends on your supplier having an extensive worldwide network of mills and inventory. At Corpac Steel Products, we believe in superior products, and the network required to get them to customers on time while containing costs.

With Steel Pipes, Quality, Expertise, and Customer Service Are Critical

Steel pipes have been used with confidence for years in many industries such as

           ·          Commercial construction

           ·          Electric power generation

           ·          The petroleum industry

           ·          Shipbuilding

With superior strength and durability, steel is the product of choice in many industries, and your steel pipe supplier must meet or exceed expectations. Your steel supplier should be able to provide the exact product you need at a competitive price, get it to you on time, and provide optimum service throughout the purchasing process.

Today You're Faced with Many Choices

A combination of a world economic downturn that began in 2008, plus emerging world economies in India, China, and Brazil have resulted in more choices than ever for those who need steel products. All choices are not equal, however, and you must research your options carefully to ensure you get the level of quality that your project demands.

Without a Quality Product, You Have Nothing

Many projects require steel that meets specifications made by standards organizations like the American Petroleum Institute, ASTM, and the International Organization for Standardization. When you are certain that your steel pipe supplier's products meet the relevant standards, you have the confidence to put your crew to work, knowing they are dealing with high quality materials. Without this confidence, materials failure could cause scheduling problems or worse, safety problems.

Expertise in Logistics Is Necessary for Today's Projects

You may be a US-based company working on a project in another country in a remote region where delivery is a challenge. Does your steel supplier have experience in getting product to similar projects? When suppliers have to cross multiple international boundaries to get products to you, you need to know that they have dealt with similar issues and helped their customers' projects succeed.

Customer Service Makes a Tremendous Difference

When you have questions about products, schedules, or logistics, your steel supplier should be available to answer them. Customer service issues should never get in the way of completing a project successfully. At Corpac Steel Products, we are committed to the highest quality products, the logistics support you need, and customer service that will bring you back for your next project.