Japanese steelmaker JFE Steel Corporation has announced that it will supply 23,000 mt of API 5L X70-grade high strength electric resistance welded (ERW) steel pipe for Republic Of Mozambique Pipeline Investments Company (Pty) Ltd. (ROMPCO), a subsidiary of South Africa's Sasol Technology Pty Ltd. (Sasol).
JFE Steel's steel pipes will be used for the ROMPCO pipeline project that will transport natural gas locally produced in Mozambique. Approximately 130 km of pipeline will be installed in the first phase of the project that will start transporting gas in July 2014.
Meanwhile, JFE Steel has supplied 2,000 mt of API X80-grade electric resistance welded (ERW) steel pipe with an unprecedented thickness exceeding 20 mm produced at its Chita Works for the Australian energy company Santos Ltd. The pipes will be used for surface casing in drilling projects of the company.
Normally, either expensive seamless pipe or UOE pipe are preferred 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 is the world's first such API X80-grade pipe offering thickness greater than 20 mm to meet the requirements of these extreme environments.