Steel Forgings Used for Subsea Oil & Gas

Scot Forge recently exhibited at the 2018 Global Petroleum Show from June 12 - 14 in Calgary. Much of our discussions centered around material requirements for subsea oil & gas forgings. We felt it would be most beneficial to summarize our talking points here for our customers!

Forgings are used for a multitude of subsea applications to help extract and move oil and gas. In order to remove the crude oil and natural gas from under the sea bed, companies must mine underwater. When selecting steel to use for offshore applications, corrosion resistance and hardness are the top concerns. Some subsea components, including pipeline, blowout preventers and riser tubes, are used extensively in subsea oil and gas drilling.

Subsea applications are exposed to some of the most aggressive environments on earth. Because many of these components are completely submersed on the ocean floor, they must be able to withstand the corrosive ecosystem, high pressures, strong currents and underwater objects and debris. All metals can technically corrode; some, like pure iron, corrode very fast while others, like stainless steel, are slower to corrode and therefore are used more frequently for subsea forgings.

Both duplex and super duplex stainless steel variations are resistant to corrosion and stress cracking. The most common materials used for subsea pipelines and risers include grades F91, 4340 and 4130…with 4130 being the most prevalent. However, as the oil and gas industry continues to regain steam, changes to oil and gas specifications requiring larger cross sections may cause more companies to push for F91 over 4130. This is something forging suppliers should be aware of and communicate with oil & gas customers.

Additionally, working in the offshore industry or supplying products for subsea applications often requires ABS or DNV certification. Scot Forge understands where in the manufacturing or construction process the certification is required and can work with customers/suppliers to help minimize costs and production delays while ensuring that products obtain the certifications needed.

At Scot Forge our technically trained sales team, backed by our forging development team and metallurgists, can provide the support needed to improve and prove-out component designs and manufacturability. We have extensive experience working directly with OEMs and understand the end-use applications, expectations and specifications…making Scot Forge easier to work with and more reliable.