ERW Welded Steel Pipe Line Pipe
Electric resistance welded line pipe coated and tested for low pressure fluid transmission
Specifications
Specifying Line Pipe for Oil and Gas Transmission
Line pipe carries oil natural gas and water between a wellhead a station and a terminal, and the same pipe families are bought for plant piping and for construction piling.
This page is an engineering application brief built from published product data.
It is not a record of a delivered customer project and contains no customer name, quantity or date.
The Application
What the Material Has To Do
Line pipe carries oil natural gas and water between a wellhead a station and a terminal, and the same pipe families are bought for plant piping and for construction piling. The pipe sees internal pressure, external soil and backfill load, and whatever corrosion the medium and the ground bring with them. Which manufacturing route is used depends mostly on diameter: electric resistance welded pipe covers 21.3mm to 660.4mm outside diameter, longitudinal submerged arc welded pipe covers 355.6mm to 1820mm, and spiral submerged arc welded pipe covers 219.1mm to 3048mm. Seamless pipe is bought where the run has no longitudinal weld at all, in outside diameters from 1/2 inch to 48 inch with wall selected by schedule.
The Challenge
Where Specifications Usually Go Wrong
The specification trap in line pipe is treating the grade as the whole order. Two mills can both ship a pipe stenciled to the same steel grade and only one of them will carry the test record the pipeline inspector asks for at site. Wall thickness, end preparation, coating and the test package are all separate decisions, and a pipe that was quoted plain end with black oil coating turns into a site problem when the crew expected bevelled ends and a three layer polyethylene coating. The second trap is length: a pipe family whose standard random length does not match the transport and the stringing plan generates cutting waste and extra girth welds before the line is even in the trench.
Pain Points
What Buyers Run Into
Grade Quoted Without the Test Package
L245 or X52 on a purchase order says nothing about whether chemical analysis tensile elongation flattening bending impact and hydrostatic results will arrive with the pipe. The tests have to be named on the order, not assumed.
Welded Route Chosen by Price Instead of Diameter
Asking for a large diameter pipe from an electric resistance welded mill or a 200mm pipe from a spiral mill forces the wrong process onto the job. Diameter and wall thickness narrow the route before price does.
Coating Decided After the Pipe Is Made
Fusion bond epoxy coal tar epoxy three layer polyethylene varnish bitumen and black oil are all available, but they are applied to the pipe and are not something a site can retrofit on a full string.
End Preparation Left Unstated
Bevel end plain end plastic cap and screwed and socket are all normal supply conditions. The welding crew plans around one of them, and a wrong end costs a day of field preparation on every joint.
Random Length Against a Fixed Stringing Plan
Standard lengths differ by route: 0.3 to 18 meters on electric resistance welded pipe, 3 to 12.5 meters on longitudinal submerged arc welded pipe, 3 to 70 meters on spiral pipe and 5.8m 6m 12m fixed or 2-12m random on seamless. Matching length to the trench and the truck avoids cut ends and extra girth welds.
Specification Logic
Narrowing To the Right Grade and Size
Start From Diameter and Wall
Electric resistance welded covers 21.3mm to 660.4mm outside diameter with 1.5 to 22.2mm wall. Longitudinal submerged arc welded covers 355.6mm to 1820mm with 5.0 to 50mm wall. Spiral submerged arc welded covers 219.1mm to 3048mm with 4mm to 30mm wall. Seamless runs 1/2 inch to 48 inch with wall by schedule from SCH5S to SCH160 and XS between 1.65mm and 80mm.
Fix the Standard and the Grade Together
Welded line pipe is supplied to ASTM A53 EN10217 DIN 2458 IS 3589 JIS G3452 and BS1387 in ASTM A53 GR A and GR B, EN S275 S275JR S355JRH and S355J2H and GB Q195 Q215 Q235 Q345 and L175 L210 L245 L320 through L555. Seamless pipeline pipe follows API 5L ASTM A106 ASTM A53 DIN17204 DIN17440 DIN2448 and JISG3452-54 in A53B A106B and API 5L B X42 X46 X52 X60 and X65.
Name the Test Package on the Purchase Order
Chemical component analysis, mechanical properties covering ultimate tensile strength yield strength and elongation, flattening bending blow and impact testing, exterior size inspection and hydrostatic testing are all available. Longitudinal and spiral submerged arc welded pipe add X ray testing of the weld, and spiral pipe adds a metallographic test and a Charpy V impact test.
Choose the Coating for the Ground Not the Catalogue
Fusion bond epoxy coal tar epoxy three layer polyethylene varnish bitumen and black oil coating are available on welded line pipe. Seamless pipe is supplied black painted galvanized natural three layer polyethylene coated or with polyurethane foam insulation.
Settle Ends and Length With the Welding Crew
Seamless pipe is supplied bevel end above 2 inch, plain below or equal to 2 inch, with plastic cap or with screwed and socket. Pick the length family that matches your transport and stringing before the pipe is cut.
Separate Line Pipe From Casing Early
If part of the scope is well casing rather than transmission, that pipe follows API 5CT GB/T 19830 and SY/T 6194 in H40 J55 K55 N80 L80 13Cr C90 T95 and P110, and it is quoted as its own line on the order.
Material Options
Grades Worth Comparing
| ERW Welded Steel Pipe Line Pipe | Use when: Distribution and gathering lines and station piping in the 21.3mm to 660.4mm band for water gas and oil at low pressure, and for oil drilling and machinery work. Trade-off: Efficient across small and medium diameters and supplied with an EN 10204 3.1B certificate, but the diameter ceiling is 660.4mm and wall stops at 22.2mm. |
|---|---|
| LSAW Welded Steel Pipe Line Pipe | Use when: Large diameter transmission from 355.6mm to 1820mm where wall thickness has to reach 50mm. Trade-off: Heaviest wall available of the welded routes and the weld is X ray tested, with lengths of 3 to 12.5 meters meaning more girth welds per kilometer than spiral pipe. |
| SSAW Spiral Submerged Arc Welded Steel Pipe | Use when: Very large diameter water oil and gas lines and construction piping from 219.1mm to 3048mm, in ASTM A252 GR 1 GR 2 GR 3 BS 4360 Grade 43 and Grade 50 or EN S275JR through S355J2H. Trade-off: Reaches diameters no other route covers and supplies lengths of 3 to 70 meters, but wall thickness is limited to 4mm to 30mm. |
| Seamless Steel Pipe Pipeline Pipe | Use when: Runs where a longitudinal weld is not acceptable, and higher API 5L grades such as X42 X46 X52 X60 and X65. Trade-off: No longitudinal weld to inspect and the widest wall range by schedule, at a higher price than a welded pipe of the same size. |
| Seamless Steel Pipe Casing Pipe | Use when: Well casing and low and middle pressure fluid pipeline boiler petroleum drilling and chemical duty to API 5CT. Trade-off: Casing grades H40 through P110 are ordered against a different standard than line pipe, so the two cannot be substituted for each other on a quotation. |
Getting It Right
Processing Quality and Packing
Processing Notes
- Surface treatment is applied to the pipe before shipment, so name fusion bond epoxy coal tar epoxy three layer polyethylene varnish bitumen or black oil coating at the order stage.
- State bevel end or plain end, and whether plastic caps or a screwed and socket end are required for storage and handling.
- Give the fixed or random length you want rather than accepting a mill standard, since every extra cut adds a field girth weld.
- Where the scope mixes transmission line and casing, split the items on the enquiry so each is priced against its own standard.
- Galvanized seamless pipe is available where a buried or exposed section needs a zinc surface instead of a coating system.
Quality Notes
- The certificate on electric resistance welded and longitudinal submerged arc welded line pipe is EN 10204 3.1B, and the pipe is supplied with the ISO9001 BV SGS and RoHS certification held on the mill side.
- Hydrostatic testing and exterior size inspection are part of the standard test list on welded line pipe and should be named on the purchase order.
- Weld X ray testing applies to longitudinal and spiral submerged arc welded pipe, and spiral pipe adds a metallographic test and a Charpy V impact test.
- Spiral pipe certification can be issued to EN10217 EN10219 API 5L PSL1 or PSL2 and API 5CT, so confirm which certificate line the pipeline inspector expects.
- Ask for the mill test certificate to carry the same grade designation used on your isometric drawings, since API EN and GB designations do not map one to one.
Packing Notes
- Bevel ends and coated ends are protected before loading because field repair of a damaged bevel is slow and a damaged coating has to be made good in the trench.
- Confirm whether the pipe ships in a container or as breakbulk, since lengths above container length decide the loading method for the whole order.
- Bundle and mark by diameter wall and grade so a stringing crew can identify a joint without a certificate in hand.
- State the destination port and any inland leg, because road length limits often decide the length family before the pipeline design does.
- Agree the stencil marking content with us before production so it matches the numbering on your line list.
Before You Ask For a Price
What To Send With Your Enquiry
- The line list or isometric with outside diameter wall thickness and length per item
- The grade or its equivalent such as API 5L X52 L360 ASTM A53 GR B or S355J2H
- Manufacturing route if it is fixed by your design, otherwise the pressure and service so the route can be proposed
- Coating and surface treatment required and the end preparation the welding crew is working to
- Quantity in meters or tons and the destination port
- The test and certificate package required including hydrostatic testing X ray testing and the EN 10204 certificate level
Materials
Products For This Application
LSAW Welded Steel Pipe Line Pipe
Large diameter submerged arc welded line pipe in L245 to L555 with pipeline coating
Specifications
Spiral Submerged-Arc Welded Steel Pipe
Spiral submerged arc welded pipe for large bore water lines piling and construction
SpecificationsSpiral Welded Steel Pipe
Spiral submerged arc welded pipe for water gas oil and piling duty in large diameters
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Ranges and Sectors Behind This Brief
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Oil Gas and Pipelines
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Read moreQuestions Buyers Ask
Line Pipe for Oil and Gas Transmission FAQ
Which pipe route suits our diameter?
Electric resistance welded covers 21.3mm to 660.4mm outside diameter, longitudinal submerged arc welded covers 355.6mm to 1820mm and spiral submerged arc welded covers 219.1mm to 3048mm. Seamless runs from 1/2 inch to 48 inch. Give the diameter and wall and the route usually chooses itself.
What tests come with the pipe?
Chemical component analysis, ultimate tensile strength yield strength and elongation, flattening bending blow and impact tests, exterior size inspection and hydrostatic testing. Longitudinal and spiral submerged arc welded pipe are also X ray tested on the weld, and spiral pipe adds a metallographic test and a Charpy V impact test.
Can you supply the pipe already coated?
Yes. Fusion bond epoxy coal tar epoxy three layer polyethylene varnish bitumen and black oil coating are available on welded line pipe as per requirement, and seamless pipe can be supplied black painted galvanized natural three layer polyethylene coated or with polyurethane foam insulation.
What certificate is issued with line pipe?
Electric resistance welded and longitudinal submerged arc welded line pipe are certified to EN 10204 3.1B. Spiral pipe can be certified to EN10217 EN10219 API 5L PSL1 or PSL2 and API 5CT. Ask for the mill test certificate at the order stage so the paperwork travels with the pipe.
Is casing pipe the same as line pipe?
No. Casing follows API 5CT GB/T 19830 and SY/T 6194 in grades H40 J55 K55 N80 L80 13Cr C90 T95 and P110 and is used for drilling and for low and middle pressure fluid pipeline boiler and chemical duty. List casing separately from transmission line pipe on the enquiry.
What lengths can we get?
Electric resistance welded pipe is supplied from 0.3 to 18 meters, longitudinal submerged arc welded pipe from 3 to 12.5 meters, spiral pipe from 3 to 70 meters and seamless pipe as 5.8m 6m or 12m fixed or 2-12m random or customized. Tell us the transport limit at the destination and the length family can be matched to it.
Specifying Material For Line Pipe for Oil and Gas Transmission
Start with the line list or isometric with outside diameter wall thickness and length per item. With that plus the quantity and destination we can put real numbers against each grade.