Oil and gas
The production of oil and natural gas is a complex endeavor. Crude oil and natural gas are organic mixtures with sometimes widely varying composition depending on their deposits. The standard components of crude oil include hydrocarbons and sulphur, oxygen and nitrogen compounds. Natural gas consists of such gases as methane, ethane and propane and likewise contains other secondary constituents such as sulphuric acid. Resistance to pitting, crevice and stress corrosion is therefore one of the most important characteristics of materials used in the oil and gas production.
Global energy demand on the rise
Despite the wide ranging and multifaceted efforts to develop renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power and commercialize their use, the worldwide supply of energy will continue to rely on petroleum and natural gas extraction for a long time to come. To ensure the long-term availability of these fossil fuel reserves, extraction rates at existing oil and gas wells are continually being improved through deep drilling and the use of secondary and tertiary extraction methods. The efforts to explore new deposits and their development have been intensified.
Since reserves that by comparison are readily available have largely been exhausted, the search for new deposits is becoming increasingly difficult, with future oil and gas production requiring ever more advanced extraction techniques. In the future, nickel alloys and special stainless steels produced by VDM Metals will also contribute to keeping the world supplied with fuel and energy.
Typical alloys used in the oil and gas industry are:
VDM® Alloy 718 CTP (2.4668/UNS N07718)
- VDM® Alloy 925 (2.4852/UNS N09925)
VDM® Alloy 825 (2.4858/UNS N08825) / 825 CTP (2.4861/UNS N08827)
VDM® Alloy 625 (2.4856/UNS N06625)
VDM® Alloy 400 (2.4360/UNS N04400)
VDM Alloy K-500 (2.4375/UNS N05500)
VDM® Alloy 926 (1.4529/UNS N08926)
VDM® Alloy 31 (1.4562/UNS N08031)
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Upstream
For more than three decades, VDM Metals has been a reliable supplier of high-value nickel materials to the oil and gas industry. In the upstream segment these materials are used as pressure tubes in umbilicals, in flowlines, riser pipes, valve systems, wire lines and subsea bandings.
Downhole
Rods and bars (forged, rolled and drawn), produced from VDM® Alloy 718 CTP, VDM® Alloy 625 and VDM® Alloy K-500, are used in many different areas, including the manufacturing of hanger and packer systems, completion tools and pump shafts.
Midstream
Hot or cold rolled metal plate or sheet metal and strip in coils produced by VDM Metals are used in the manufacture of long-seam welded pipes, as well as flanges and fittings. Sheet and plate are available in lengths up to 39 ft (12 m), depending on dimensions and alloying. Rounding out our portfolio are forged rods used as pre-materials for seamless tubes and pipes in the casing and tubing segment, as well as for sub-sea control units.
Welding consumables and procedures
Many VDM materials such as VDM® Alloy 825 or VDM® Alloy 625 are suitable for weld cladding (deposition welding), e.g. to protect welded pipes made of a low-alloyed base material against corrosion, preferably with wire or strip electrodes. In General, welding techniques play a vital role in the research and development work at VDM Metals, given its position as manufacturer of special products for corrosion protection and as expert for all types of joint welding. We supply welding wire in standard or customized spools, or when in exceptional great lengths, in barrels. Our welding wires are suitable for automatic and semi-automatic gas shielded processes (WIG, MIG) and submerged arc welding.
