News Release
³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ Corporation
³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ Completes First Shipment of UOE Steel Pipe for Sour Linepipe
Requiring Stringent Surface-hardness Specifications
³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ Corporation announced today that it has manufactured and completed its first shipment of UOE steel pipe1 for sour linepipe requiring stringent surface-hardness specifications, amounting to 86,000 tons of the product for a pipeline that will transport sour gas2 in Southeast Asia.
To prevent sulfide stress cracking3 in the hardened portion of a sour gas pipeline’s outer surface layer, the hardness must be lower than that of ordinary linepipe. ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ’s West Japan Works (Fukuyama District) manufactures a wide range of high-performance steel plate and linepipe steel using its proprietary Super-OLAC®-A controlled-cooling technology to precisely control the uniformity and cooling rate.
³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ used this technology to manufacture steel plate with reduced hardness over the entire surface.
In addition, the company developed measuring equipment capable of precisely determining the surface hardness of steel plate based on electromagnetic properties.4 The resulting UOE steel pipe for sour linepipe ensures the stringent hardness specifications required over the pipe’s entire surface.
The selection of ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ for this order reflects the customer’s confidence in the company’s long track record of supplying high-grade steel pipe for various pipeline projects around the world, as well as its proven product quality and supporting steel-pipe manufacturing technology.
Going forward, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ will continue to contribute to the global development of resources and energy by providing high-performance, high-quality steel products such as its UOE steel pipe.
1 Large-diameter (400－1,422mm, outside) welded steel pipe made of thick steel plate for transporting fluids such as oil and natural gas.
2 Natural gas with a hydrogen sulfide partial pressure of at least 0.003 bar.
3 Hydrogen migrating into steel exposed to hydrogen sulfide in a sour gas can embrittle the steel and cause cracking when the steel is stressed. Higher concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and/or loading may result in increased cracking.
4 An external voltage is applied to a sensor on steel surface to measure changes in magnetic flux as a function of the steel’s mechanical properties.
About ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ Corporation
³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ Corporation, one of the world’s leading integrated steel producers, was established through the consolidation of NKK Corporation and Kawasaki Steel Corporation in 2003. The company operates several steelworks in Japan and numerous branch offices and affiliates throughout the world. ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ͵ÅÄ leverages world-class technologies and know-how to produce a wide range of products based on its “Only One, Number One” strategy of focusing on unique and best-in-class products. The company reported consolidated sales of 2,255 billion yen and consolidated crude steel output of 23.96 million tons in the fiscal year ended March 2021.
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