Posted on 12 Oct 2010
China's leading oil country tubular goods (OCTG) producer, Baosteel, has launched commercial production of a type of high-specification Super 13Cr seamless oil tubing which can be used in extreme gas drilling conditions in China's Tarim Oilfield, substituting for imports. The tubings, with a spec of BT-S13Cr110, have been jointly developed by Baosteel, Tarim Oilfield Company and the CNPC [China National Petroleum Corporation] Tubular Goods Research Institute. Some 200 tonnes of pilot tubing with premium connections were delivered to Tarim Oilfield in January this year. These were successfully used in a gas well with ultra deep, high-pressure and high-temperature drilling conditions, according to a Baosteel release. Baosteel says the Tarim Oilfield Company had previously been totally dependent on imports of Super 13Cr tubing as completion tubes, which are expensive and have long lead-times. Only a few countries such as Japan are capable of producing this kind of high-alloy pipe, which is resistant to high carbon dioxide corrosion. This made it a priority product that China has urged domestic producers to develop, the company says. Baosteel has received official approval for commercial production this month after the successful trial in the well. The company's specialty steel department supplies the round billet for the tubing. Steel Business Briefing notes Tarim Oilfield is one of China's major oil and gas fields and is located in southern China's Tarim Basin in Xinjiang Ugyr Autonomous Region.
