ASTM Steel Is Critical to Numerous Industries

Steel pipe (measured on the basis of inside diameter) and steel tubing (measured on the basis of outside diameter) are critical to numerous industries. Tubes are considered structural, while pipes are considered as transport vessels, but both are found in numerous applications, from processing industries to consumer products. In many industries, these products must meet strict criteria set out by industry standards organizations like the American Petroleum Institute (API) or the ASTM (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials).

Welded Pipe and Tubing

Welded pipe or tubing may be made from a hot rolled or cold rolled steel coil. Cold-rolled steel gives the finished product closer tolerances and a smoother surface finish. Welded pipe or tubing is made when the steel coil is slit to a precise width and then formed, welded, sized, and cut. Today, laser welding can be used for applications in industries with higher purity requirements.

Seamless Pipe and Tubing

Seamless pipe or tubing is made from a metal bar that is pierced, extruded, or gun drilled. The process used depends on the metal alloy used. Further processing after piercing, extrusion, or gun drilling may be required to meet dimensional or metallurgical requirements. Cold drawing and cold pilgering are methods that can reduce a pipe or tube's diameter or change its shape.

Process Industries and ASTM Steel Standards

The chemical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food, beverage, and dairy industries are industries that generally require steel tubing or pipe that meets various ASTM standards. These standards specify things like which alloys the tubes must be made of, nominal wall thickness of the tubing or pipe, or the alignment of tube-to-tube fitting required for orbital welding in the industry.

API Pipe and ASTM Standards

Steel pipe and tubing suppliers must be conversant in the various industry standards. For example, API 5L pipe is a type of API pipe that must meet more stringent criteria than a comparable ASTM pipe. Some pipe is made to meet stringent standards, but it automatically meet less stringent standards as well. Therefore, you may see pipe stamped with markings indicating more than one standard that it meets.

The Right Steel Distributor Can Help You Save Money and Time

Don't be afraid to use the expertise of structural steel and pipe distributors early in your project. Choose the right distributor and you can realize savings due to their knowledge of mill schedules, the worldwide market, and timing of your orders. With a trusted steel distributor on your side from early on, you have a better chance of avoiding mistakes and reworks and staying on or accelerating your schedule.

Expect Worldwide Drilling Projects to Increase in Number

Oil exploration is expected to increase in coming years. A January, 2013 find in southern Australia is just one example of a massive oil deposit that could change that country's status from being an energy importer to being an exporter. This particular untapped shale deposit equivalent to hundreds of billions of barrels of oil could well indicate a coming shale boom down under.

Does Your Steel Distributor Know the Market?

Sourcing oil country tubular goods and structural steel from a supplier that knows the industry on a worldwide basis is your smartest move. Knowledge of product availability and steel rolling schedules can make an enormous difference in the efficiency of delivery, helping the various trades coordinate their work better and preventing scheduling conflicts. In some cases, projects can even be accelerated without compromising safety.

Getting Delivery Right Is a Key to Savings

When your structural steel and steel pipe and tubing supplier has a worldwide network of mills, and expertise with delivery that crosses international boundaries and encompasses the "last mile," you will have fewer headaches and can be more confident of scheduling without the hassles of storing products your project isn't ready for yet.

OCTG Pipe and Structural Steel: There When You Need It

Many suppliers talk about just in time delivery, but when your supplier has the experience to back up the talk, you can be confident that your drilling, pipeline, or construction project will have the products required to proceed right when they're needed. Your supplier should know their products well, but they should also know how the projects that require them work and how to help those projects proceed on schedule.

Involve Steel Manufacturer Early for Cost and Time Savings

Choosing your structural steel supplier is important, but do you know how important it really is? If you are able to make use of your structural steel supplier's knowledge of product availability, you can expect fewer change orders, better coordination between the trades working on the project, and ultimately better on-time performance. Does your supplier know about the steel process, the market, and fabrication efficiencies? It should.

Ask Early On About Structural Steel Product Availability

When you bring your steel supplier on-board during the design phase, you can prevent problems that result in redesigns and reworks and the cost overruns that can result from them. When your steel manufacturer is there early in the project, they can provide guidance regarding such things as steel rolling schedules, and processes that can be done in-shop rather than in the field.

What Suppliers Can Bring to the Table

A good structural steel supplier can provide valuable input when they're involved early on, including:

• Information on commodity savings due to coordinated mill run schedules
• Information on materials selection
• Structural steel connection options that can improve construction efficiency
• Field activities that can be done in-shop (such as pre-assembly, coatings, and attachment of accessories)
• Knowledge of industry and technology trends

How Your Choice of Supplier Helps Keep Costs Under Control

Choosing your steel manufacturer carefully and availing yourself of their expertise can help you keep costs down by doing the following:

• Helping coordinate erection schedules, which enhances safety
• Allowing better trade coordination on the project
• Allowing strategic task overlap that can accelerate the project schedule

In some cases, manufacturers can provide input on minimization of material and fabrication costs too.

Making Just In Time Delivery Work

Your choice of steel supplier is critical with the just in time delivery philosophy. When your supplier can precisely pack and sequence deliveries, your project can realize savings. Every construction project is different, but when your supplier has access to a real-time supplier database and current pricing and production data, you can be confident your steel supplier is procuring your materials most cost effectively.

ISO Structural Steel Suppliers Must Have Broad Knowledge

Much is required of structural steel, whether it is hidden inside the structure of a building or exposed to the weather. Structural steel suppliers have to have a keen understanding of structural steel coatings, the right tools for applying it, and strong quality control procedures. For example, coating systems used in today's bridges are quite sophisticated, incorporating zinc primers to protect from corrosion, plus top coats to add further protection and give the desired color or finish type.

Structural Steel Fireproofing

Although structural steel isn't combustible, in the event of a fire, sustained high temperatures can seriously damage non-protected steel, which loses about half its load-carrying capacity once temperatures approach 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. Fireproofing encases steel and provides insulation in order to keep steel temperature lower than the temperature that would compromise design strength. Fireproofing products for structural steel are tested in accordance with the ASTM E119 (UL 263) testing standard.

Exploration Pipeline and Corrosion

In the petroleum exploration industry, resistance to corrosion is extremely important. Steel pipe used in exploration pipelines may have one of a variety of protective coatings internally and externally in order to withstand harsh chemical environments and prolong the life of the pipe. Your exploration pipeline supplier should be conversant in the products used in corrosive environments so there are no misunderstandings about your order.

Drag-Reducing Internal Coatings              

The compressor stations along gas pipelines are primarily used to overcome friction between the gas and the wall of the pipeline. But today, internal coating is more widely used, and these coatings are specifically designed to reduce drag and cut the costs due to compressor station operation. These coatings also cut down on compressor station maintenance.

Technical and Logistics Expertise Are Paramount

Not only should your exploration pipeline supplier or supplier of steel for other purposes be well-versed in the technical demands of your industry, they must have the expertise necessary to deliver your products when you want them, even if they must cross international boundaries to get there. With more industries shifting to a "just in time" inventory program, the steel supplier with the logistics and technical expertise is the one to choose.

Welded vs. Seamless API Pipe

API pipe and tubing is mostly used for conveying oil, gas, and water. Tubular products may be welded or seamless, and each type has advantages and disadvantages. Welded tubing starts with a hot or cold rolled coil. Cold-rolled steel provides tighter tolerances and good mechanical properties. The steel coil is cut to precise widths and formed into tubing by forming and welding, and also sizing and cutting processes. Different types of welding may be used, with laser welding having the best reputation for meeting purity requirements.

How Seamless Pipe Is Made

Seamless pipe starts with a metal bar. It is pierced, extruded, or gun-drilled to create pipe. Piercing is used with stainless steel alloys with less than 12% chromium. Extrusion, which forces the bar over a mandrel and through a die is the most common method of making seamless pipe. Gun-drilling is more expensive, but many believe it creates a higher quality pipe. With gun-drilling the bar is fed over a stationary flute drill and is rotated throughout, producing superior straightness and concentricity.

Availability and Cost

API 5L pipe is widely used, and may be either seamless or welded. Seamless API 5L pipe is more expensive. With seamless hot-rolled pipe, the number of available alloys is limited, whereas with welded pipe, a wider variety of materials may be used. There is generally a wider variety of welded pipe readily available, whereas seamless pipe may have to be ordered.

Surface Options

With seamless pipe, surface condition is determined by hot forming. An "orange skin" surface is produced with hot forming, and this texture must be grinded away, raising the cost. Welded pipes may be made from raw materials with many different surface types. Further refinement of the surface of welded pipes may be done with processes like grinding as well.

Tolerances

For hot rolled seamless pipe, wall thickness tolerance is 12.5%, as specified by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). However, with hot rolled seamless pipe, the cross-section may not be perfectly symmetrical. Generally, with steel plate or coil that is even, the seamless or welded pipe created will have consistent tolerance throughout the entire pipe.

The Steel Tubing Distributor and Your Supply Chain

Steel tubing is specified by its outside diameter, unlike steel piping, which is specified by its inside diameter. Steel tubing is used in a huge range of industries, from processing industries, to structural industries and even consumer products. Round and square tubing are used in structural applications, for structures like catwalks and platforms, for transport of liquids or gas, and for products like vehicle exhaust systems.

Process Industries and Steel Tubing Demand

Process industries include pharmaceuticals, biotech, dairy, chemical, food, and beverages. Water treatment facilities are also process facilities that depend on access to a steel tubing distributor for construction, expansion, and repair needs. Stainless steel alloys offer the process industries resistance to corrosion, chemical and thermal stability, and cost effectiveness. The steel distributor plays a critical role in building these industries and keeping them productive.

The Steel Distributor over the Next Five Years

Despite experiencing fluctuations in demand up through 2010 or 2011, steel distribution is expected to see increased demand over the next few years. Sustained construction growth and increased exploration for petroleum products are main contributors to this growth. Revenues in the steel distribution sector are expected to experience annual growth of around 1.8% per year through 2017.

Upstream and Downstream Steel Tubing Demands

Steel tubing demand comes from a variety of upstream and downstream industries, and is affected by rig counts in the oil and gas industries, construction of gas and water transmission lines, and general economic conditions. Suppliers are learning the best ways to replenish inventories, as well as how to make better forecasts of demand so as to meet it without creating huge inventory backlogs.

Factors Affecting Steel Tubing Costs

The costs associated with steel tubing distribution are affected by numerous factors. The cost of the steel itself is influential, as are labor costs and the costs associated with electricity and natural gas used by the steel tubing manufacturing industry. The steel distribution industry is seeing a trend toward just-in-time inventory systems as steel tubing consumers demand this type of inventory method. International markets and import and export competition is also a factor expected to affect steel suppliers over the next decade.

No Room for Errors with Oilfield Drill Pipe

Did you know that nearly 1700 years ago, oil wells of up to 800 feet deep were drilled in China using drill bits attached to bamboo? In the late 16th century, Persian oil wells were dug by hand to depths of up to 115 feet. Drill pipe in one form or another has been around for a very long time. Fortunately, today's drill pipe complies with international standards so that it gets the job done efficiently and maximizes crew safety.

ASTM Standards in the Petroleum Industry

In 1921, ASTM D 86, a method for distilling petroleum products at atmospheric pressure was approved, and this standard became one of the most-used ASTM standards ever. ASTM D 86 is considered one of the fundamental building blocks of standardization in the petroleum industry. ASTM steel pipe used in the petroleum industry has to conform to strict standards as well, preserving standardization and meeting safety and design standards.

ASTM A53 Steel Pipe

Tubing and pipe complying with ASTM A53 are used in oil and gas drilling. ASTM steel pipe is used in all aspects of the petroleum industry, including exploration drilling, oil production, and transport of gas, oil, water, and natural gas in numerous challenging environments. As drilling operations become more remote, ASTM pipe assures project managers that their steel pipe will stand up to whatever Mother Nature dishes out.

What Drill Pipe Does

Drill pipe is tubular steel conduit. The ends of drill pipe are outfitted with distinct threaded ends that are called tool joints. Drill pipe is what connects the surface equipment of a drilling rig to the bottomhole assembly and the drilling bit. Drill pipe pumps drilling fluid to the bit, and is used to raise, lower, or rotate the bit and bottomhole assembly.

You and Your Oilfield Drill Pipe Supplier

You don't have time to educate your steel pipe supplier on what you need and why you need it. Choose an oilfield drill pipe supplier that is conversant in ASTM standards and that has both the mill network and worldwide transport network to deliver your products to you on time.