Tokyo --- JFE Steel Corporation announced today that together with Metal One Corporation it has received an order for 280 metric tons of JFE-UHP-17CR-110 OCTG pipe for casing¹ from Brazil's national oil company, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (hereafter: Petrobras), to be used on Petrobras's offshore oil development project in Brazil. This is the first order received for JFE-UHP-17CR-110, a newly developed grade that boasts higher corrosion resistance. This OCTG - with a thickness of 13.84 mm and an outer diameter of 9.625 inches (244.4 mm) - have been produced and shipped at JFE's Chita Works.

This project aims to extract oil from the "pre-salt"² layer, which lies 3,000–4,000 meters under the bottom of the ocean waters by Brazil. Since the pre-salt environment is under high corrosion senario, high-end and expensive duplex stainless³ OCTG was mostly used in the past.

JFE-UHP-17CR-110 pipe, which JFE Steel developed, has greater superiority in corrosion resistance than JFE-UHP-15CR, which is also strong and corrosion- and temperature-resistant. In addition, this pipe costs less and has a shorter lead-time than duplex stainless OCTG.
To connect these casings, JFELION - the latest JFE proprietary premium connection, with unique seal geometry - will be used.

This is the very first commercial order for JFE-UHP-17CR-110. JFE Steel's many years of supplying high-end OCTG to various oil and gas projects worldwide, its high quality and reliability, and cutting-edge pipe production technology led to this order.

JFE Steel continues to contribute to the development of resources and energy worldwide through the supply of high-performance, high-quality steel pipes and other steel products.

1. Casing pipe is inserted into the underground hole (including sea bottom) during the drilling of oil/gas wells to serve as a solid outer shell that protects OCTG from external pressures.
2. The geological layers that were laid down before a salt layer on the continental shelves.
3. Duplex stainless steel is a high-strength, highly corrosion-resistant stainless steel consisting of a dual phase structure of austenite and ferrite produced by adding a suitable quantity of nickel (Ni) to high-chrome (Cr) steel.

* "UHP" is a registered trademark of JFE Steel Corporation in Japan.

Outline of Petrobras

Established in 1953; a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation and the largest company in the Southern Hemisphere by market capitalization.

Revenue: Approximately US$141.4 billion in 2013

Net Income: Approximately US$10.8 billion in 2013

Location

JFE-UHP-17CR-110

# # #