【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】2326-2025: Gem Tube Industry successfully develops China National Petroleum’s first titanium alloy coiled tubing
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This post was last edited by “Fish Swimming in the Desert” on April 24, 2025, at 16:17. Kudos and encouragement to China’s chemical technology and equipment industry for its achievements! Your participation in the discussion serves as the greatest motivation. ********************** [Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Equipment] This is a continuously updated compilation thread; all are welcome to join the discussion: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** On April 20, PetroChina Baoshi Pipe Industry Co., Ltd. successfully developed its first titanium alloy coiled tubing through independent research and development. This achievement filled a gap in PetroChina Group’s product lineup in this field, marking a major technological breakthrough for Baoshi Pipe Industry in the realm of high-end energy pipelines. It provides essential equipment for the exploitation of oil and gas resources under harsh conditions such as deep seas, ultra-deep wells, and highly corrosive environments. It is reported that the density of titanium alloy continuous tubes is only 57% that of steel. They possess advantages such as high strength, light weight, excellent corrosion resistance, and high fatigue resistance. Compared with carbon steel continuous tubes of the same grade, they allow for a significantly greater depth of pipe string deployment. They are suitable for long-term use in harsh onshore and offshore oil and gas environments with high levels of H₂S, CO₂, and Cl⁻, and can meet the various operational requirements in areas such as drilling and completion, oil and gas production, as well as oil and gas transportation during oil and gas extraction. To overcome the technical challenges in the manufacturing of titanium alloy continuous tubes, Gemstone Tube Industry formed a project team and developed a detailed implementation plan. Through repeated tests and multiple trial productions, it selected the best titanium alloy raw materials, identified suitable welding materials, and optimized key equipment used throughout the process, including those for gas protection, shaping, and welding. “We have overcome key technologies such as springback control in the cold bending of titanium alloys, high-precision, high-energy-density, efficient continuous laser welding, and online gas-shielded annealing, and successfully developed the first batch of titanium alloy continuous tubes that fully meet the performance requirements. ”Zhao Kun, the chief expert at Gemstone Pipe Industry, said that this trial production not only significantly improved the production efficiency of titanium alloy continuous pipes but also avoided problems such as a decline in corrosion resistance caused by oxygen and hydrogen absorption during the welding process of titanium alloys. It provides new solutions for the development of oil and gas resources in deep wells on land in China that reach depths of tens of thousands of meters, in harsh corrosive environments, as well as in marine areas. This represents a significant breakthrough achieved by Gemstone Tubing through independent innovation, as it has enabled the material used in its coiled tubing products to evolve from low-carbon microalloyed steel and stainless steel to non-ferrous metals; this has allowed the company to enter new markets for such coiled tubing products in ultra-deep wells, wells with high sulfur content, and offshore oil and gas wells.
The manufacturing facility for ultra-long titanium alloy coiled tubing at Guangdong Zhongshan Guoyin Titanium Energy Technology has officially reached its completion stage. https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5691740 (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)
“This coil of titanium alloy tubes was developed by the company in collaboration with several research institutions and enterprises across the country. The R&D team has developed a manufacturing platform for titanium alloy coiled tubing, and independently created key process equipment such as intelligent, fully automatic, adaptive precision forming systems for sheet metal tubes, as well as systems for efficient, stable deep welding over long periods of time. Computer-controlled precision is used throughout the manufacturing process, which helps to overcome the challenge of achieving stable formation of ultra-long titanium alloy welds. ”Ye Xiongyue, general manager of Guangdong Fowide Welding Co., Ltd., said in an interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Daily. As the level of exploration and development in medium and shallow reservoirs continues to increase, it becomes increasingly difficult to discover oil and gas, which has led to greater focus on the exploration and development of deep oil and gas resources as well as energy wells in harsh conditions. Thanks to its advantages such as low weight, high corrosion resistance, and long fatigue life, titanium alloy coiled tubing can serve as a substitute for steel coiled tubing for operations in deep, marine, and other harsh environments. However, the relevant materials and manufacturing processes have been under foreign blockade for a long time. In 2022, the project \"Development and Industrialization of Ultra-Long Titanium Alloy Coiled Tubing\", submitted jointly by Guangdong Fuweide Welding Co., Ltd. together with institutions such as the Engineering Materials Research Institute of China National Petroleum Corporation, China Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., Baoji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd., and Xinjiang Xiangrun New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., received **special support**. “The R&D team selected optimal materials, overcame a series of technical challenges, and developed a complete set of process technologies for the production of titanium alloy coiled tubing. During welding, ultra-long welds can be formed stably without the need for beveling or filler wire; single-sided welding can result in double-sided formation, thereby greatly improving welding efficiency. ”As explained by Hui Songxiao, an expert in titanium alloys at China National Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals Corporation. “The maximum depth to which coiled tubing can be run is influenced by factors such as the weight of the tubing and the power of the processing unit. ”Hui Songxiao explained that when steel coiled tubing is lowered to a depth of 7,000 meters, the weight of the tubing means that the power of the operating vehicle will no longer be sufficient to support the operations related to the tubing. If it grows any longer, the weight of the steel pipe itself may break the tube. The density of titanium alloys is only 60% that of steel, which theoretically allows the maximum depth at which coiled tubing can be used to be extended from 7,000 meters to over 12,000 meters. Hui Songxiao added that the maximum depth to which steel coiled tubing can be deployed can also be increased, but this requires a high strength level from the steel material. Consequently, the technical challenges associated with steel strip production and coiled tubing fabrication increase as well. Excessively high strength levels lead to a significant reduction in the plasticity and toughness of the steel tubing, thereby severely affecting its fatigue life. Lightweight titanium alloy materials can avoid these problems. From 24 hours to 72 hours, 100 hours, 150 hours, 200 hours, 300 hours… the R&D team repeatedly conducted theoretical analyses, experimental verifications, and optimization iterations on the various parameters that affect welding stability, in order to extend the period during which titanium alloy continuous tubes can be welded stably. To date, the continuous welding time has exceeded 500 hours, enabling the production of ultra-long (12,000 meters) titanium alloy continuous tubes. In addition, the R&D team conducted fatigue tests on titanium alloy coiled tubing at internal pressures of 8 MPa and 35 MPa, and the results showed that its fatigue life was much higher than that of steel coiled tubing. “Currently, ultra-deep wells ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 meters have been explored in China, but there are no suitable coiled tubing systems available at present. ”Ye Xiongyue explained that in October 2023, the industrialization project for ultra-long titanium alloy coiled tubing began construction in Zhongshan, Guangdong, with the hope that such tubing will enable oil and gas drilling in wells reaching depths of 10,000 meters in China.
Several companies are doing it as well, but all use CNPC’s technology
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】From 2027 to 2025, domestically produced PEEK materials will break the foreign monopoly; these materials are currently in the product pilot testing stage. https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5691782 (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)