ISSUES INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TESTING PROGRAM AND PRODUCTION QUALIFICATION PROCEDURE FOR SSC-RESISTANT FRICTION-TYPE WELDS FOR A FULLY SSC-RESISTANT INTERVENTION RISER

摘要

Sour service drill pipe product has long been in use with tool joints and tubes separately meeting criteria for sour service through IRP Volume 1 - Critical Sour Drilling to welding. The weld area of the final product is omitted for SSC testing. Though there are few reports of field failures of sour service drill pipe occurring in the weld area, in SSC laboratory tests, the weld area exhibits reduced resistance to cracking in H_2S compared with drill pipe. Friction-type welds have several features which differ from arc welding type fabrication welds for which detailed qualification procedures are outlined in ANSI/NACE MR0175/ISO 15156. Friction-type welds present some unique challenges in obtaining SSC resistance. This paper will demonstrate that with an ongoing testing program, selection of appropriate testing stress levels and alloys, and strong end-user (customer) interaction, a set of production qualification criteria for SSC resistance of friction-type welds is possible. A Vickers hardness based production qualification procedure for friction-type welds which was developed and verified through SSC testing will be discussed. This SSC-resistant friction-type weld was developed for a very specific application: an intervention riser. End-user interaction was critical in developing testing procedures specific for the expected field environment conditions.