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JFE Steel Corporation

JFE Steel Supplied 2,000T of ERW Pipe for Australian Natural Gas Wells
– World's First X80-grade ERW Pipe with Thickness Over 20mm –

TOKYO - JFE Steel Corporation announced today that together with Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. it has supplied Australian energy company Santos Ltd. with 2,000 tons of API X80-grade electric-resistance-welded (ERW) steel pipe offering unprecedented thickness exceeding 20mm from their Chita Works. JFE Steel’s advanced pipes will be used for surface casing in the Crown-1 and Winchester-1 drilling campaigns offshore of north-western Australia.

The wells are aimed at discovering hydrocarbons in the Browse Basin (Crown-1) and Carnarvon Basin (Winchester-1) from the latter half of 2012 and proposed from the first half of 2013, respectively.

Conventionally, either expensive seamless pipe or UOE pipe would be used for such projects to provide the high strength and extra thickness required to withstand the great pressures of deep-sea environments. JFE Steel’s new cost-effective ERW product, however, is the world’s first such API X80-grade pipe offering thickness greater than 20mm to meet the requirements of these extreme environments. The exact size of the pipe on order is 20 inches OD x 20.574 millimeters x 40 feet.

Surface casing is run into the ground or bottom of the ocean after the hole has been drilled in the early phase of drilling for oil or gas to provide a sturdy foundation and integrity for the well. See Fig Below:

Surface casing

JFE Steel, which has sold steel conductor pipes to customers worldwide for many years, is continuing to develop increasingly stronger and thicker pipes to support the safe and economical development of global resources.

Santos Ltd.
Established: 1954
Business: Natural gas producer in Australia and Asia.
Headquarters: Adelaide, Australia
Sales revenue (2011): AUD 2,530 million
Net profit (2011) AUD 753 million

Project Locations
Project Locations

JFE Steel’s API X80-grade ERW Steel Pipe
JFE Steel’s API X80-grade ERW Steel Pipe

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