Worldwide Infrastructure Depends on Steel Pipes and Structural Steel

Roads, bridges, buildings, and pipelines all depend on steel in order to serve their purposes. It's not difficult to find a steel tubing supplier, even in developing economies. But just because a company calls itself a steel tubing supplier doesn't mean it can meet your steel tubing, steel pipe, and structural steel needs. At Corpac Steel Products we are logistics experts and know exactly how to get your products to you so as to maximize project efficiency.

Water Infrastructure

Water infrastructure around the world is being built up continually, particularly in societies that are pursuing major urban initiatives like China. Water infrastructure in other places requires extension and sometimes repair. Steel continues to be a material of choice in water infrastructure, on large and small scales. The best suppliers have the engineering expertise to ensure products meet specs and projects meet schedules.

Structural Steel and Building Infrastructure

Structural steel comes in a variety of cross-sectional shapes and sizes and makes up significant portions of commercial and industrial buildings. When your structural steel supplier understands the "whys" behind a particular design, they can advise you properly when it's time to order structural steel. And if your project is in a remote area or in another country, they should be able to tap a worldwide network to deliver products safely and on time.

Oil and Gas Infrastructure

Oil and gas pipelines will only become more extensive as worldwide energy demand continues to increase. Steel tubing distributors with experience in drill string production, OCTG products, and the various international standards that apply to the oil and gas industry are the ones you should call on when your project is a drill rig or a transmission pipeline.

Your Distributor Should Do More than Sell You Tubing

Anyone can sell you steel tubing. But steel tubingdistributors with an extensive background in the projects their products are used in and the logistics expertise necessary to bring products to their "last mile" are the only ones you should consider. At Corpac Steel Products, we not only understand our products thoroughly, we also have extensive knowledge of shipping, customs, the most appropriate steel transport methods for your needs.

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.

The Steel Supplier for Offshore Application Faces Many Challenges

Ambient hydraulic pressure and bending associated with it are concerns with deepwater pipelines. Pipes need lower diameter to thickness ratios and should be made from higher strength materials for these applications. At Corpac Steel Products, we understand how pipe manufacturing and various coatings can alter stress-strain behavior in offshore pipeline applications. Today's projects are located in ever more remote areas and expose pipe to more extreme conditions than in the past. Can your steel supplier meet these challenges?

Concerns at Different Stages of Manufacture

When steel is manufactured, its chemical composition, cleanness, and surface quality are the primary determinants of its quality. At the plate stage of manufacture, slab reheating, rolling parameter, and cooling parameter affect plate microstructure, mechanical properties, and resistance to corrosion. Formation of pipes must address pipe and weld geometry, weld quality, mechanical properties, and residual stresses on the pipe. Ensure that your supplier understands all aspects of the manufacturing process.

What Today's Market Demands

Today's petroleum projects demand (among other things) steel purity that is up to the challenges of transporting sour gas, high strength steels that demand superior plate rolling and pipe formation, and arctic grade pipe that demands the highest quality longitudinal seam welding. Pipe geometry for deep sea applications must meet tough specifications due to hydraulic pressures and chemical reactions in these environments.

Concerns of Submerged Arc Welded Seams

Mechanical properties and corrosion resistance must meet stringent toughness and hardness specifications, which have to do with welding parameters like consumables and base metals. Misalignment of weld shapes or problems with weld linearity can cause problems in offshore applications. It's critical for project managers to work with suppliers with the engineering expertise to understand exactly what is needed and why it's needed.

Delivery Logistics Effects on Schedule and Budget

Corpac Steel Products understands that having the products that meet specifications is only part of the job. Getting the products to customers quickly, safely, conveniently, and cost-effectively is critical too. A supplier's distribution system can have serious effects on schedules and budgets when there are problems. Choose a supplier with widespread industry experience and the logistics know-how to deliver on promises consistently.

API Steel Casing and Tubing

API steel is used in offshore drilling projects, for drill pipe, drill casing, and production tubing. It may be used in pipe for cement pumping, oil lines, or drill fluid pumping. After production is established, API line pipe is used for transportation of the petroleum product as well as distribution. Corpac Steel Products has extensive experience in supplying products meeting American Petroleum Institute specifications to projects of all sizes in all locations.

API Casing

Casing maintains borehole stability, prevents contamination of water sands, controls well pressures during drilling and production, and is where blowout preventers, wellhead equipment, and production tubing is installed. Casing is a major part of the overall cost of a well. Therefore selection of size and grade of casing, as well as connectors must be made with engineering and economic factors in mind.

API Tubing

Oil and gas are transported from their producing formations to the field surface using tubing, which must be strong enough to resist the loads and deformations that can occur in the production process. API tubing must be sized according to the expected rate of oil or gas production. API standards for tubing and casing have to do with how these products are manufactured, steel grades used, types of joints, wall thickness, and length ranges.

API Connection Ratings and Failure

The API recognizes three basic types of joint connections: rounded thread coupling, asymmetrical trapezoidal thread coupling, and trapezoidal thread casing without coupling. Casing failures usually occur at connections and may be caused by improper design or use, failure to meet manufacturing tolerances, or damage during handling or storage. Your supplier should understand casing failure and why you need the casing or tubing you order.

Your Casing and Tubing Supplier

Corpac Steel Products supplies casing and tubing to projects worldwide and knows how to get products to customers even in remote areas and even when products must cross one or more international borders. Customizing a delivery system to the client can go a long way toward helping projects stay on schedule and within budget. Make sure that your API casing and tubing supplier knows the products thoroughly, and understands the importance of on-time delivery.

Choosing ASTM Structural Steel and Steel Pipe Properly

Design and construction materials are usually designated by reference to ASTM specifications that simplify design and construction since they're matched to engineering needs. However, there are dozens of ASTM specifications that apply to steel building construction projects, so it's important to check that you use current standard designations in your contracts. At Corpac Steel Products we're knowledgeable about these specifications and understand your needs.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask Your Supplier Questions

If you are not sure about availability of ASTM steel products, ask your supplier. Top suppliers have networks that allow them to obtain the exact products you require, wherever your project is located. Your supplier should understand that ASTM specs change and expand, and that a specification that applied 20 years ago may not apply to your specific situation today.

ASTM Steel Pipe Isn't the Same as Round Hollow Structural Section

While ASTM steel pipe is a lot like round hollow structural section material, it isn't the same, and different ASTM standards apply to each. For example, ASTM A500 applies to hollow structural section, while ASTM A53 applies to steel pipe. Often, round hollow structural section with the same cross-section dimensions as steel pipe is stocked and available, so you'll have an easier time procuring round hollow structural section in cross section geometry that matches that of available steel pipe.

Anchor Rods and Bolts

Anchor rods and bolts are not the same, though some people confuse the two. ASTM A325 and A490 apply to cover headed bolts with specific thread lengths and lengths up to eight inches. They're governed by specifications for steel-to-steel structural joints. ASTM F1554 covers hooked, headed and threaded or nutted rods in three different strength grades. Accurate specification will help reduce miscommunication with your supplier.

ASTM Structural Steel Supplier with Comprehensive Knowledge

At Corpac Steel Products, we have comprehensive knowledge of ASTM standards and speak your language when it comes to steel construction projects. When your supplier is conversant in the various standards you require, and when they are experienced in logistics and delivery across international lines and in remote areas, you have fewer worries with your construction project.