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_STNS.UI.oUIs['stUI2'].fbInit();_STNS.UI.oUIs['stUI2'].fbShow(); Services: Engineering Papers ERW Pipe and Deep Water by: Gordon A. Aaker, P.E. and Jerry Price, P.E. Brown and Root Marine

Quick Links: Introduction Pipeline Design and Material Specifications Pipe Manufacturing Fitness for Purpose Strain Age Testing Development Of Alternative Defect Acceptance Criteria Non Destructive Testing Coating/Cathodic Protection Cathodic Protection Installation Conclusion References

Introduction: In the summer of 1994, operators Enserch Exploration partners Ltd completed the installation of sub sea production equipment, pipelines and jacket for the Garden Banks GB388 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater project on schedule and below budget. Block 388 is 250 miles south of New Orleans with proven reserves of 27 million bbl oil in water depths ranging from 2,100 to 2,400 feet. This precluded conventional development methods. A floating production facility was selected because such a development approach would allow initial production in the shortest time possible. (Ref 1) The export and gathering pipelines were designed by Brown and Root and installed by McDermott. The various phases of this part of the project will be discussed in the following sections. Top Pipeline Design and Material Specifications The oil and gas gathering pipelines are each 54.4 miles long, 12 inch nominal diameter, API-5L-X60 pipe, with wall thickness staged in four steps from 0.5 inches at the shallow water end to 0.688 inches in the deep end. The additional wall thickness in deep water is required to resist propagation and buckling. Both pipelines are coated with fusion bonded epoxy (FBE), and the gas pipeline has an additional 1 inch of 140 pcf concrete coating in water depths less than 450 feet. The concrete is required for stability against waves and currents during the 100 year hurricane. All pipeline components are rated for 2220 psi operating pressure (ANSI Class 900 # system). These pipelines also feature a diver less pipeline jumper connection system at the sub sea template site. (Refs 2,3 ). The oil and gas sales pipelines are 2 and 0.3 miles long, respectively, conforming to API 5LX60 pipe specifications. The oil line is 8-inch nominal diameter and 0.438 inches wall thickness, and the gas line is 12 inch nominal diameter and 0.5 inches wall thickness. Both pipelines are coated with FBE and the gas line has 1-inch of 140 pcf concrete coating, for stability against waves and currents during the 100 year hurricane. All pipeline components are rated for 2220 psi, operating pressure (ANSI CLASS 900# systems). Top Pipe Manufacturing Bids were solicited from pipe manufacturers capable of producing seamless or Electric Resistance Welded (EPW) API 5L X60 line pipe to project specifications. Seamless pipe was selected for wall thickness greater than one-half inch because of commercial reasons and lack of experience with ERW pipe in the deepest water. The ERW pipe was used to a maximum water depth of 1250 feet. Several operators have recently utilized ERW pipe for a number of offshore applications and there has been some revision of the traditional attitude which

was to specify seamless pipe for smaller diameters and longitudinal submerged arc welded pipe for the larger sizes. Due to the deepwater nature of this project notched tensile specimens were taken and tested during each lot test as an additional measure to check ERW weld fusion line properties. This "notched bar tensile test" was developed by the American Gas Association and allows acceptable fusion line ductility to be specified. (Ref) The results were very satisfactory as the notched tensile to unnotched tensile ratios were greater than one. The decision to select ERW pipe is usually made on the basis of economics as it is usually the cheaper alternative to seamless and in most instances is cheaper than longitudinal pipe. This is not however, always the case. Other factors which should be weighed in the decision are confidence in the ERW mill producing the pipe as quality aspects can vary enormously from mill to mill, and the service to which the ERW pipe would be put. There is still some conservatism in the industry about its use in either sour or high pressure gas service. The best ERW mills are undoubtedly those operating High Frequency Induction (HFI) welding (above 100 KHz) which are able to weld up to around 15 or 16 mm wall thickness with diameters of 20" or more; the largest being 26" and average 16 or 18". The use of BFI alleviates concern about possible defects arising in the weld line as a result of variable electrical contact or inadequate forging upset, which was one reason ERW was not more widely adopted years ago. In addition most ERW mills perform a full body or weld line normalizing treatment at around 950 C which greatly enhances weld properties. Other major factors are the quality of the strip, its chemistry and metallurgical condition and the preparation of abutting edges with machined edges being preferred; Lower quality versions are sheared or slit. Top Fitness for Purpose Two Fitness for Purpose studies were carried out on project line pipe in two distinct phases of testing. The first phase involved Strain Age testing on the Seamless pipe to establish the effect of out of specification Aluminum/Nitrogen ratios of less than two. The second phase involved the development of alternative defect acceptance criteria for girth welds in accordance with the project specification. Top

Strain Age Testing During Inspection at the Seamless MU it was noticed that certain heats of pipe were not in accordance with the project specification with regard to a minimum Aluminum/Nitrogen ratio of two. In order to accept a specification deviation it was decided to carry out charpy testing on strain aged samples to ensure that the specification could still be met as the low ratio has the possibility to produce some strain age embrittlement during welding. In order to study the effects of Aluminum/Nitrogen levels less than two a test matrix was developed for various strain levels and as welded conditions. The strain levels selected were 0.5 %,I.5 % and 3.0% strain. Typical girth welds were prepared according to the Lay Contractors welding procedures using both SMAW and FCAW and samples extracted for strain aging at 250 deg F. Subsequent to

Strain Aging charpy impact specimens were prepared from the Fusion Line (FL), FL+ 2mm and FL +5mm. and tested at 32 deg F. Pipe was selected from the heat showing the lowest Aluminum/Nitrogen level. All the energy levels for FL+2mm and FL+5mm are extremely high at around 200 Ft lbs average. The fusion line specimens are lower but still meet the minimum spec. requirements of 35 ft lbs minimum average. It is interested to note that energy levels increase from the as welded condition to the 1.5% strain level and drop back down at the 3% strain level for both weld processes. The results of the test program indicated that the pipe was Fit For Purpose and met the requirements of the project specification. Top Development Of Alternative Defect Acceptance Criteria The inspection of girth welds on the project were in accordance with API 1104 but Enserch required the option of developing Alternative Defect Acceptance Criteria. This was achieved by using the Engineering Critical Assessment (ECA) approach in Appendix A of API 1104 and British Standard PD 6493. The former approach developed Fitness-for-purpose defect acceptance criteria for girth welds during pipeline installation and the latter established critical defect sizes for each pipeline to determine their acceptability should they sustain any damage during service. The application of the alternative defect acceptance criteria was not intended to give the contractor any latitude on providing quality girth welds, but reflected a concern over the risk of performing weld repairs on a pipeline subjected to high installation stresses. Additionally, there is considerable quality assurance to be gained by the use of more stringent inspection, and the extensive weld procedure testing associated with the application of the ECA approach. However the ECA acceptance criteria is not used when any of the following apply: Misalignment exceeds 10% of the wall thickness There are cracks present Undercut exceeds 10% of pipe wall thickness and/or surface flaw defect length. Overlapping defects Repair welds.

Girth weld samples were prepared as part of weld procedure qualifications using both SMAW and FCAW processes for both the ERW (0.5 inch wall) and Seamless (0.688 inch wall) pipe. Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD) specimens were prepared in accordance with BS 5762 and API 1104 in the weld metal and heat affected zone giving a total of 24 specimens(8 sets). The results ranged from 0.006 ins to 0.031 ins. The test data was reviewed to see if the minimum values for both weld metal and/or heat affected zone meet or exceed either the 0.010 or 0.005 inch CTOD values required for the application of API 1104 Appendix A. The ERW pipe did not provide any alternative acceptance criteria or relaxation in excess of API 1104

which allows a defect 2 inches long. The Seamless pipe however provides for allowable flaw sizes in excess of API 1104 of 5.1 inches long for flaw heights/depths of approx. 1/8 inch and 2.75 inches long for a defect depth or height of 0.2 inches. The test data was reviewed to establish the minimum CTOD value for both the Seamless and ERW pipe to be used in the calculation of critical defect sizes by using PD 6493. These values will be utilized after pipeline installation should any defects be detected. The results indicated that for the ERW pipe a defect height of 0.275 inch for a complete circumferential surface defect and an 8.7 inch long through thickness defect was allowable. For the seamless pipe a 0.38 inch defect height for a completely circumferential surface defect and a 13 inch long through thickness defect was acceptable. Top

Non Destructive Testing As the ERW pipe was to be laid in deepwater outside the limits of previous experience to date, additional precautions were taken during inspection to provide the highest confidence that premature weld failure could not occur during the lay operation. Initially, the pipe was NDT inspected at the mill by the manufacturer and outside the mill by an independent third party NDT company, Shaw Pipeline services, Edmonton, Canada (Shaw).The mill inspection included: (1) Inline UT inspection of ID/OD scarved weld areas, (2) ENH of OD/ID for surface indications greater than 12.5% and (3) Full body Ultrasonic testing using an array of 24 45 degree probes. Shaw was contracted to perform prove-up inspection on the . weld fine utilizing Ultrasonic equipment with 70 degree probes. Conventional UT probes (45 degrees) used for inspection of:, ERW weld seams are susceptible to missing unacceptable weld line defects and rejecting pipe containing acceptable indications. Research work carried out by Shaw demonstrated that a substantial amount of experience has been accumulated 'm ERW weld line inspection using many different transducer angles and configurations. The selection of the transducer angles used for this project is based upon that experience. Generally, ERW defects can be classified as those defects in the fusion line and those defects contained in the steel or skelp. The type of fusion line defects include: lack of fusion, weld cracks and penetrators. These defects are typically positioned vertical in an ERW weld and can be prominent to the OD,ID, midwall or through wall. Steel defects common to ERW pipe are often referred to as hook cracks or upturned fibers. They occur inside the fusion line and are the results of laminar imperfections in the skelp interacting with the flow line from the ERW process. As previously discussed, the most detrimental defects tend to be vertically orientated in the fusion line. For this reason, the highest angle probes possible were selected for detection of these type of defects. The transducer selection must also take into account the effects of pipe diameter and wall

thickness. The most detrimental defects tend to be vertically orientated in the fusion line. For this reason the highest angle Transducers practical were selected for detection of fusion fine type of defects. Transducer selection must also take into account the effects of pipe diameter and wall thickness. The use of focused transducers aids in controlling the beam profile. This allows the NDT operator the ability to concentrate on specific areas of the weld profile., In addition these focused transducers provide superior signal to noise levels over the non focused versions. Steel related defects exhibit two reflective surfaces. One reflective surface is that whose axis is vertical or near vertical depending upon the amount- of work used in forming the pipe. the other reflective surface runs parallel to the pipe surface. The geometry of these defects provides a natural focus or comer effect at the upturn portion of the imperfection. High angle probes are very suitable to identifying this type of defect because of the natural focusing effect and the vertical orientation of the imperfection. If a 45 degree transducer reference level is calibrated from a N5 notch or a 1/8 in hole the signal response from the midwall defect would be non-existent as the returning sound energy would pass behind the transducer. A 70 degree transducer does not suffer the same @s-orientation problems and the response from a mid wall indication return signal amplitude is very comparable to OD and or ID lack of fusion. The consideration to use a 70 deg. transducer for weld line inspection is based on the API requirement to provide continuous inspection through the weld line on a 1/16" band on either side A 45 degree transducer can not accomplish this. A 45 degree transducer can only inspect the OD and ID while the orientation of the defect must be essentially vertical to reveal an unacceptable defect. Top Coating/Cathodic Protection The pipelines were coated with 15 mils of fusion bonded epoxy (FBE). Thin film FBE coatings have been successfully used over the last two decades to protect offshore pipelines which have operating temperatures up to 230 deg F. Some of the advantages of FBE are that it has excellent adhesion, good impact resistance, good abrasion resistance, excellent flexibility, good resistance to cathodic disbandment, excellent resistance to soil stresses, good resistance to moisture penetration, good chemical resistance, and is easy to repair. For field joints with concrete coating Raychem WPC/13 shrink sleeves were used. The void was filled with polyurethane foam. Because of slippage problems associated with laying pipe in deepwater it was decided to develop a FBE "rough" coat on top of the 15 mils film. The pipe coater in New Iberia, Louisiana developed a method by which they sprayed dry FBE powder on the 15 mil uncured surface as soon as it exited the electrostatic spray booth. The Nap-Gard Non-slip coarse coating performed extremely well during installation with no slippage experienced.

Problems were experienced during the coating operation because of the inability to prepare the ERW pipe surface to a satisfactory anchor profile with a conventional grit blast. As a consequence coated pipe was failing the cathodic disbandment test. This was attributed to a decarburized layer which was produced during the accelerated cooling phase of pipe manufacture. The problem was overcome by using a larger harder grit in the blasting operation. Top Cathodic Protection Cathodic Protection for the pipelines was achieved with Aluminum Zinc-Indium anodes (Galvalum III). Anode bracelets were attached to a section of pipe every 520 feet. Top Installation The pipelines were layed during May through August 1994 by the McDermott Lay barge DB 28. Conclusion ERW pipe was layed satisfactorily in water depths of 1250 feet Fitness For Purpose tests and additional NDT gave greater assurance that the line pipe was Fit For Service while laying in deepwater. Ultrasonic test procedures should be utilized which consider transducers capable of detecting midwall defects in ERW pipe. A nonslip FBE coating method was developed which proved successful during installation in avoiding any pipeline slippage in the tensioners. The surface of pipe produced with accelerated cooling should be randomly checked to detect any evidence of de-carburization which could affect the coating operation. Top

References Robert D. Pickard, "Gulf of Mexico deepwater project moving toward 1995 start-up", Oil and Gas Journal, June 1994. M.M. Beckmann, J.R. Hale, S.W.Davis and C.N.Prescott, Diveriess Jumper Connection System for a 12-in. Pipeline, OTC conference, Houston 1994.

J.R.Hale, S.W.Davis and C.N.Prescott, Garden Banks 388 Pipeline Jumper Testing and Installation, OTC conference, Houston 1995. D.N.Williams and R.J.Eiber, "Notched-Bar-Tensile-Test evaluation of the ductility of ERW line pipe, AGA technical Meeting on Line Pipe Research, San Francisco, 1983 Top