In its desire to help shape the future of the energy industry, Vallourec is constantly developing the production of more advanced products.Thanks in part to this strategic approach, the Vallourec site in Jeceaba, Brazil, has increased its global exports.Today, it is the turn of Vallourec Tianda, Vallourec's subsidiary in China, to build a portfolio of high-end products for local and foreign customers.Rita Sheng, Bruce Bejm and Markus Pardun tell us about the work they do to create the highest quality standard and premium tubular solutions for Line Pipe businesses.In 2016, Vallourec acquired its Tianda branch, made up of a plant in Chuzhou and another in Changzhou, China.The following year, the sites began production of standard products for the Asian and Middle Eastern markets.Since then, Vallourec Tianda has applied API 5L standards, and carried out full qualification audits of its steel suppliers in order to guarantee finished products of the highest quality.Since 2020, Vallourec Tianda has relied on its expertise in the manufacture of standard products and on the Group's global capacities to initiate a shift towards the creation of premium products.Based on changing customer needs, Tianda industrializes new chemical compositions and new grades of steel to create tubes with higher mechanical properties."When we acquired Tianda, its product catalog did not yet meet the growing demands of large oil and gas companies, as well as engineering companies involved in the pipeline industry," says Markus Pardun, Quality and industrialization for Vallourec's Project Line Pipe activities."We have succeeded in industrializing new grades of steel at the Tianda site", he continues, "thanks to Vallourec's decades of expertise in the manufacture of high-end seamless tubes and the involvement of our excellent technical teams.Today, with the Tianda rolling mill, Vallourec China is able to offer high quality seamless tubes, perfectly suited to onshore and shallow offshore pipe projects.»In 2020, the Tianda team started producing the premium grade X52QS, for outside diameters (OD) of 6 to 12 inches and wall thickness of 6 to 16 millimeters (mm).In the following years, the X60QS and X65QS premium grades were also industrialized and qualified.At the same time, the line pipe manufacturing range has been extended to outer diameters of up to 14 inches and wall thicknesses of up to 16 mm.Thanks to new alloy concepts containing less carbon, the line tubes offer an effective combination of strength and robustness, as well as high resistance to corrosion in acidic environments.In the case of offshore applications, where having materials with inappropriate properties can cause pipelines to collapse, these premium products, manufactured by Vallourec Tianda, prove to be a valuable and reliable solution.Always ready to push the limits, the team plans to develop its offers even further, in order to offer a complete range to its customers.In 2022, for example, it announced that its 14-inch outer diameter tubes will have a wall thickness of up to 28 mm.Thus, with greater wall thickness, the pipeline can withstand greater pressure, and customers have the ability to develop more complex oil and gas fields.Manufacturing premium products requires using high quality raw materials.“To begin this new phase for Tianda, the team reviewed its list of suppliers,” explains Bruce Bejm, Sales Director of Vallourec China for Line Pipe and Process activities.“Once we identified the two local steel mills best able to meet Vallourec standards in terms of safety and quality, we entered into specific technical agreements with them.Creating a premium offering also means manufacturing products to relevant industry standards.“When we started this process in 2020, we decided to follow Shell's design and engineering practices (DEP) in addition to API 5L and DNV FT101 standards,” says Rita Sheng, technical sales manager.“This set of rigorous standards ensures that our premium products are of the highest quality, and able to meet customer requirements.To ensure the positioning of the Tianda plant as the go-to production route for pipeline projects in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Vallourec has also invested heavily in new production and quality control equipment suitable for tubes as well as anti-corrosion coatings.Result: for three years, Tianda has developed its own coating line."Drawing on the expertise of the entire Group, Vallourec Tianda will now be able to supply packages comprising grades suitable for acidic environments for line pipes as well as FBE, 3LPE and 3LPP coatings", explains markus.Since proximity to the customer is at the heart of Vallourec's concerns, the group also holds a majority stake in finishing lines in Indonesia.Located in Batam, the PTCT plant reinforces Vallourec Tianda's impact in the region with state-of-the-art capabilities in terms of heat treatment and non-destructive testing.Vallourec Tianda has already started to see its premiumization efforts bear fruit.Major oil and gas companies such as ENI have recognized the level of quality of the new range of its products.For example, ENI has already qualified the Tianda plant for its line pipe needs.Orders for its new steels and coatings are also increasing.This year, the plant will deliver a large order of approximately 24,000 tons of equipment for onshore pipeline projects in Iraq."This contract, the first in this new market for Tianda, represents a major win for the teams," said Bruce.Another example of advances in premiumisation at the Tianda plant - and in line with Vallourec's ambitions to reduce CO2 emissions - the group recently installed solar panels allowing the sites to operate with sources of sustainable energy.“Premiumizing our Tianda sites is an ongoing process,” adds Markus.“And it is very promising, both for our local business in China and for the Middle East region.»No articles match your search.Please select other filters.Vallourec SA published this content on 06 September 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on September 06, 2022 16:59:03 UTC.