API 5L Steel Pipe

OAK's pipe line are designed and produced in strict accordance with API 5L standards, and line pipes are mainly used in the oil and gas industry to transport gas, water and oil to oil and gas industry companies for further processing and production.

API 5L pipes are carbon steel pipes used for oil and gas transportation, including seamless and welded (ERW, EFW, LSAW, SSAW) manufactured pipes, and have flat ends, threaded ends, and socket ends.

Materials cover API 5L Class B, X42, X46, X52, X56, X60, X65, X70, X80 PSL1 and PSL2 onshore, offshore and sour services(NACE pipe).

Brief introduction

API 5L steel line pipe is for oil and gas industries pipelines, developed for different working environments. The steel line pipe material generally in carbon steel and comply to API SPEC 5L specifications. Applied for petroleum and natural gas industries, oil industries requirements for transportation and are expected working in extreme situations, low and high temperatures, corrosion resistance for corrosive environments, and for sour services in H₂S conditions.

Supply Range for API 5L Pipe

Grades: API 5L Grade B, X42, X52, X56, X60, X65, X70, X80
Product Specification Level: PSL1, PSL2, onshore and offshore sour services
Outer Diameter Range: 1/2” to 2”, 3”, 4”, 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, 16 inches, 18 inches, 20 inches, 24 inches up to 40 inches.
Thickness Schedule: SCH 10. SCH 20, SCH 40, SCH STD, SCH 80, SCH XS, to SCH 160
Manufacturing Types: Seamless (Hot Rolled and Cold Rolled), Welded ERW (Electric resistance welded), SAW (Submerged Arc Welded) in LSAW, DSAW, SSAW, HSAW
Ends Type: Beveled ends, Plain ends
Length Range: SRL (Single Random Length), DRL (Double Random Length), 20 FT (6 meters), 40FT (12 meters) or, customized
Protection Caps in plastic or iron
Surface Treatment: Natural, Varnished, Black Painting, FBE, 3PE (3LPE), 3PP, CWC (Concrete Weight Coated) CRA Clad or Lined

Standard Scope of API 5L Pipe 

In API SPEC 5L 46th Edition, the standard scope is defined as: “Requirements for the manufacture of two product specification levels (PSL1 and PSL2) of seamless and welded steel pipes for use in pipeline transportation systems in the petroleum and natural gas industries. This standard does not apply to cast pipe.”

To summarize, API 5L pipe is the carbon steel pipe applied to the oil and gas transmission system. Meanwhile, other fluids such as steam, water, and slurry can also adopt the API 5L standard for their transmission purposes.

Types of Manufacturing

API 5L specification covers the manufacturing types in welded and seamless.

Welded Type (ERW, SAW, DSAW, LSAW, SSAW, HSAW Pipe)

The API 5L welded pipe common types are as follows:

ERW: Electric Resistance Welded, for pipe diameter normally under 24 inches.

DSAW/SAW: Double Submerged Arc Welding / Submerged Arc Welding, a substitute welding method of ERW for larger diameter pipes.

LSAW: Longitudinal SAW, for diameter up to 48 inches. Also called the JCOE manufacturing process.

SSAW/HSAW: Spiral Submerged Arc Welded / Helical SAW, pipe diameters up to 100 inches.

Seamless Type (Hot Rolled Seamless and Cold Rolled Seamless Pipe）

Seamless manufacturing type is usually for small diameter pipes (typically under 24 inches).

(When the pipe diameter is less than 150 mm or 6 inches, the seamless steel pipe is more commonly applied than the welded steel pipe.)

There are also seamless pipes of large diameters. By using hot rolled manufacturing process, we can get seamless pipes with diameters up to almost 20 inches (508 mm). If you need seamless pipes with diameters above 20 inches, we can make them through hot expanding process, with maximum diameters up to 40 inches (1016 mm).

API 5L Pipe Manufacturing Development

In the earliest years, besides Seamless and ERW, SAW manufacturing technologies, the API 5L steel pipe also could be produced in furnace lap-welded (deleted in API 5L in 1962).

With the development of pipeline steel plate-making technology, pipe forming and welding technology has also seen significant improvement, so a lot of ERW pipes and SAW pipes have been used in pipeline constructions. When it comes to big-diameter steel pipes, SAW pipe gains a great advantage. With less raw material cost and simplified and uniform production procedures, welded steel pipe has taken the first place in oil and gas line pipe industries.

API 5L covers Grade B, X42, X46, X52, X56, X60, X65, X70, X80

API 5L steel line pipe adopts different steel grades, which are Gr. B, X42, X46, X52, X56, X60, X65, X70, X80. Some manufacturers are capable of manufacturing steel grades up to X100 and X120. As steel line pipes’ grades go higher, they have stricter control on the carbon equivalent control and higher mechanical strength performance.

Moreover, in the same grade, seamless and welded API 5L pipes have different chemical compositions, namely, welded pipes have stricter requirements and lower amounts of carbon and sulfur.

In terms of different delivery conditions, there are also As-rolled, normalizing rolled, thermomechanical rolled, normalizing formed, normalized, normalized and tempered, quenched and tempered.

If you have a need for an API 5L pipe line, don't hesitate to get in touch with the OAK team for high - quality products and technical support.