First dopeless chrome tubing string installed in the North Sea
Tenaris SA, www.tenaris.com, has installed the first ever chrome tubing string using TenarisBlue Dopeless connections. The company ran the 13% chrome string last December for ConocoPhillips in an Ekofisk well in the North Sea.
This is the first time a 13Cr string with dry dope-free connections has been commercially installed in a production well, the company says.
ConocoPhillips installed over 330 joints of 5 1/2-in. 17 No. L80Cr13 TenarisBlue Dopeless in the well with no rejects and without a single cross-threaded or galled connection, Tenaris said.
Tenaris has provided over 220,000 ft of dope-free carbon steel casing and tubing for wells worldwide, the company says. The ConocoPhillips installation represents another step toward the complete elimination of thread compound use in tubular strings.
The application of the proprietary Dopeless technology to a corrosion-resistant alloy steel was challenging because chrome steel is harder than carbon steel and is, therefore, more prone to galling. According to Tenaris, its TenarisBlue Dopeless technology solves not only the anti-galling (lubrication) problem, but also the anti-corrosion protection needed for shipment and storage.
According to ConocoPhillips, the connections were very strong, easy to stab, and allowed for a much cleaner and safer running operation.
In addition to providing the tubulars, Tenaris rig-prepared the tubing string, provided assistance and training to the supplier of the completion equipment and the running company, and supervised the installation of the string offshore. Additional installations of TenarisBlue Dopeless are expected in 2005.•
