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September 2016 Tube Products International 57
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tub1802_WW_87x260+3.indd 1 08.08.16 08:40
Mill investment helps
Tata Steel break Gulf
of Mexico record
More than 140km of pipeline manufactured at Tata Steel’s
recently enhanced double submerged arc welded (DSAW) mill
has becoming the deepest to be laid in the Mexican section
of the Gulf of Mexico.
The company was awarded a contract to supply 457mm
OD x 28.6mm WT API 5L PSL2 X65MO line pipe from its
large diameter 42" DSAW mill in Hartlepool, UK, for the
development. The project marked the first time that a pipeline
had been laid at water depths greater than 3,000ft in the
Mexican section of the Gulf. Tata Steel was selected for the
project due to its experience in the manufacture of small
diameter and thick wall deep-water line pipe.
The mill has been the focus of significant recent investment
to enhance technology and processes and increase power
efficiency. More than 125 improvements were completed in
2015 to strengthen its overall operational and performance
capability.
The improvements include upgrades to welding equipment
using the latest closed loop digital weld control technology
to deliver greater weld stability, reduced repair rates and
total traceability of the process. Tata Steel has also invested
in a laser profiling system to provide a 3,600-point profile
to monitor pipe straightness and provide a full dimensional
survey of the pipe end. This data can be used to ensure
minimum ‘hi/low’ in girth welding for high fatigue and other
applications. Energy-efficient inverters have replaced more
than 50 traditional transformers/rectifiers on production lines
to enable quick and repeatable set ups while cutting the mill’s
electricity demand by nearly a third, allowing Tata Steel to
produce more pipe with less energy.
The mill’s ‘O’ press control has been upgraded to optimise
the forming process, ensuring uniform pressing along the
full length of pipes to achieve optimum pipe shape. This has
benefits for deep-water operations, as both the shape and
balancing of the ‘forming ratio’ of the pipe are critical for deep-
water collapse resistance.
Richard Broughton, commercial manager, energy and power,
Tata Steel, said, “The overall benefit of the investments can
be seen in the welding quality performance achieved during
the project in the Gulf of Mexico. Where small diameter and
thick wall pipe is typically more challenging, on this project a
combined repair rate of 0.25 per cent was achieved. This was
delivered not only due to the investment in welding technology,
but also through a programme of continuous improvements in
the welding area, which has seen similar developments across
many sizes of pipe.”
Tata Steel Europe Ltd – UK