Article in World Pipeline August 2009 Magazine

1. | PiPeline steels |
Figure 1. Aerial view of Little Rock, Arkansas. Cindy Momchilov/Camera Work, Inc.
a ‘KEYSTONE’ PROJECT
JOEl JOhNSON, WElSPuN, uSa, diSCuSSES SOmE Of ThE RECENT
PROJECTS SuCCESfullY CaRRiEd OuT bY ThE COmPaNY.
W
elspun is a world-class supplier Welspun gained international attention in April 2009
of large diameter steel line pipe with the inauguration of its new US$ 150 million facility
for major pipeline projects. The in Little Rock, Arkansas. The plant, first announced
second-largest large diameter pipe in 2007, overcame the most challenging economic
producer in the world, Welspun climate in decades to open on time. The state-of-the-
recently completed a new mill in Little Rock, Arkansas, art spiral line pipe and coating facility, located on a
bringing its pipe producing capacity to approximately 740 acre site, has an annual capacity of 350 000 t.
1.5 million tpy. Welspun’s mills can produce pipe up One of the largest industrial initiatives in the state of
to 100 in. in outer diameter, with allied facilities and Arkansas, the opening of the facility attracted more
services of double-jointing, coating, and transportation, than 600 people including state and local officials,
allowing the supply of pipe ready for installation at the customers and others.
pipeline right of way without delays. The Little Rock facility currently employs over
Welspun is a global enterprise, employing over 300 people and responds to a growing need for
22 000 people of 25 different nationalities worldwide. high technology pipe line products to meet energy
With factories in Asia and North America, Welspun’s infrastructure requirements in the US, Canada and
global reach gives the company an important Mexico. The existing pipe mills in the US were not able
competitive advantage. to serve the requirement of North American clients, and
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2. Table 1. Other ‘keystone’ Welspun projects Ü Over 1400 km/800 miles of API
5L X70 30 in. diameter pipe
Project Customer
– 120 000 pieces/300 000 t.
Cameron Highway El Paso. Crude oil pipeline extending along the Outer Continental Shelf of GoM.
Gas Module TransCanada. First x-80 grade long seam pipe.
Ü More than 20 vessels were used
to transport bare pipe to the US.
Independence Trail Enterprise products. At a record water depth of 7912 fsw in the GoM, this is the deepest large
diameter pipeline ever laid. Ü 400+ barges used and 10 000+
Golden Pass Pipeline Exxon Mobil, Conoco Philips and Qatar Petroleum. 42 in. x 70 offshore linepipe made and corrosion truck trips to transport pipe to
coated in India, shipped to the USA for concrete coaring. Supply of 182 pieces of induction bends. three coating locations.
NEO Project National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago. 36 in. X65 offshore linepipe made and corrosion
Ü 60 000 double joint welds made
coated in India, shipped to Trinidad for concrete coating. Included supply of large diameter
induction bends - 100% turnkey project.
to make 24 m/80 ft. pipe lengths.
Peru LNG Project Hunt OIl. 30 in. onshore linepipe made and corrosion coated in India and shipped to Peru. Ü 4 million m2/40 million ft2 of
anticorrosion coatings applied.
Ü 4000 railcars used to transport
finished pipe from Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas to the
right of way stretching from Canada to Illinois.
Ü Created hundreds of thousands of manhours of work in
the US, transporting, handling, double jointing, coating and
loading out/railing the pipe to the destination.
Welspun supplied the lion’s share of the US portion of
the Keystone project which stretches from the Canadian/US
border to Patoka, Illinois, a distance of 2219 km/1379 miles.
Figure 2. Little Rock - paint robot and bar coding equipment. The project received Canadian and US regulatory approvals
in 2007 and 2008 to build and operate the line and the
anticipated in-service date is late 2009.
Global capacity
Welspun used its global capacity to produce the pipe and
related services to meet the demanding schedule required
for the project. One of Welspun’s greatest strengths is its
global capacity, in India and the US. Multiple helically spiral
welded pipe mills in India produced the bare pipe for the
Keystone project and over 20 ocean going vessels supplied
by Thorsten Shipping transported the bare pipe from the
Indian port of Mundra to the US through the Ports of New
Orleans and Houston. The pipes were unloaded onto barges
or trucks supplied by Celtic Marine and transported to one
of three double jointing and coating locations; Bredero Shaw
in Pearland, Texas, Bayou in New Iberia, Louisiana and
Figure 3. Little Rock overview. Welspun’s new US facility in Little Rock, Arkansas. Pipes were
double jointed in all three locations by Midwestern into
the new plant provided the opportunity for Welspun to locate 24 m/80 ft. nominal lengths. The pipes were then coated on
closer to its customers who were facing supply challenges and the exterior with fusion bonded epoxy and abrasion resistance
to better serve their needs. overlay coating materials supplied by 3M.
Welspun believes that its capabilities in India and the The Little Rock 320 Ha/740 acre facility, developed from a
US are mutually reinforcing. The Indian facilities make the green field site alongside the Arkansas River, includes a new,
Arkansas facility more competitive, and the reverse is also state-of-the-art double jointing and coating equipment used
true. Welspun’s 2000 workers dedicated to the linepipe group to weld and coat the pipes for the project. Most of the pipes
worldwide and state of the art facilities make the company were double-jointed in a single shift production run and the
a key supplier of the best line pipe at the most competitive FBE coating facility ran on double shifts.
prices, able to deliver product to the most challenging projects Welspun’s customer TransCanada has very exacting
like the world’s deepest large diameter pipeline in the Gulf of requirements for pipe. Prior to providing anticorrosion
Mexico. coatings, TransCanada requires all coating applicators to pass
Welspun recently completed its production of line pipe for very demanding 28 day cathodic disbondment tests which
a large portion of TransCanada’s Keystone pipeline project. are verified at two independent laboratories – the trials were
This project is indeed a ‘keystone’ event in the history of achieved by the new Welspun facility the very first time.
Welspun. Here are some facts and figures to back this up: As pipes were double jointed and coated, the massive
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3. logistical exercise of moving 24 m/80 ft. pipe to the right of
way was undertaken. TransCanada’s Supply Chain along
with Bechtel worked seamlessly together with Welspun’s
Project Coordination team on a daily basis to ensure that
the correct pipe type arrived safely at the destination points
across the right of way. The Little Rock Port Authority
efficiently switched in BNSF and Union Pacific rail cars and
the Welspun Little Rock team used vacuum lifting equipment
Figure 4. Simultaneous ID/OD welding - first in the world.
to carefully load and strap the anticorrosion coated pipe
for transport over 1000 miles to the right of way. At various
times during the life of the project, the project was receiving
over three unit trains per week - (32 miles/50 km).
While the Keystone pipe was moving out via rail
another ‘keystone event’ took place in Little Rock – the
spiral weld pipe mill was commissioned in February 2009
and commenced production of 42 in. diameter API 5L
X-70 grade linepipe for a gas transmission project. Initially
production was commenced on a single shift basis and
after a learning curve period the mill moved to a double shift
production plan. By the time of the formal dedication of the
mill on 28th April 2009 over 8000 t of pipe had already been
produced at the Little Rock facility – the project entails over
250 000 t of linepipe in total.
Due to the investments made in the equipment at the
new mill, the time for calibrating equipment and learning
the necessary skills was sharply reduced from the original
estimates, thereby allowing additional pipe and coating Figure 5. Keystone pipeline route map. Source: TransCanada.
projects to be executed in the near term schedule.
Ó Over 1 million tpy large diameter line pipe, allowing
Benefits of the mill Welspun to combine US and Indian outputs to tackle
The mill has a number of benefits allowing Welspun to serve any size project.
its customers promptly and effectively: Ó Over 1.5 million tpy capacity to produce plate and
Ü 800 acres, allowing for ample storage facilities for pipe coil, allowing Welspun to supply its own feedstock as
already produced but not yet needed in the field in case required. This can reduce schedule and cost impacts
of permitting delays on pipeline. from possible supply disruptions.
Ü A continuous coil feeding system allowing for non stop Ó 250 000 tpy of capacity to produce small diameter
production – maximises output and reduces welding cost pipe (1 in. to 16 in. in outer diameter), allowing
Ü Skelp welding is performed in the flat 1G position Welspun to package main line projects with
– when the industry accepts skelp welds this will allow distribution lines from 1 in. to 100 in.
major cost savings - less waste of material and longer Ó 6 in. to 48 in. induction bends, allowing Welspun’s
overall length of pipe which will reduce welding costs in customers to purchase from one location without
the field. needing to go out and subcontract.
Ü 100% ultrasonic testing system for 100% of the coils Ó All types of internal and external coating systems/
– ensuring that top quality production is maintained. Welspun can provide mill coatings or subcontract as
Ü Simultaneous ID/OD welding station – reduces footprint customer wishes.
of the mill and reduces manpower – significant cost
savings for Welspun and their customers. The experience gained on the other world class
projects executed by Welspun allows Little Rock to call
Ü Combination of IUT & Radioscopic inspection – ensures on a large technical team to assist as and when projects
only 100% perfect pipe is presented to the customer require it.
at the final bench and improves production flow of pipe
Welspun is confident that more ‘keystone’ world class
through the mill.
projects will be successfully and safely executed in the new
Ü Complete package of internal and external anticorrosion Little Rock facility. Welspun officials point to TransCanada
coatings on 12 m to 24 m pipe – 40 ft. to 80 ft. lengths. as a key part of its success for the trust the company gave
Welspun to execute this project.
Ü The Little Rock facility is 100% backed up and
complemented by the services available from Welspun’s
Indian facilities:
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