OREANDA-NEWS. On 14 August 2009 was announced, that leading steel pipe and railway wheel maker Interpipe has successfully tested casing pipes of Q 125 grade with the Ukrainian Premium Joint (UPJ) connection. The testing took place at Interpipe’s NTRP mill in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. The testing program of the UPJ connection has been developed by specialists of DK “Ukrgasdobycha” and based on the modeling of the harsh conditions on the pipe found in gas wells.

In a demanding testing process when pressure with the total value of 860 bar was added, the control systems did not discover any violations in the integrity of the UPJ connection or deformation of the pipe body.

Fadi Hraibi, Product and Resource Management Director at Interpipe said: “The outstanding test results gave us an opportunity to demonstrate the high reliability of the UPJ connection to the Reception Committee, consisting of the members from DK “Ukrgasdobycha” and SGS, the international inspection company. Pipes with the G 125 grade with premium joint are widely used nowadays for the drilling of ultra deep wells (4000 – 6000 meters) in the gas and oil fields of Ukraine. For this reason we are sure that the development of casing pipes from high-strength steel grades with the UPJ connection will make domestic oil and gas companies more competitive by equipping them with technologically-advanced products”.

The UPJ connection has been developed by the Interpipe Company and is used for equipping horizontal and inclined wells. Compression of the premium joint “metal-metal” in combination with the resistant trapezoidal thread provides high strength and durability to the ultimate joint strength. In addition, the UPJ connection is compatible with NEW VAM type of thread connection.

In 2006 VNIIGAZ (Russia) carried out testing that showed that the UPJ connection can endure frequent stressing whilst preserving the integrity of the joint. As a result of the testing, Interpipe received a positive verdict on both the quality and possibility to use casing and tubing pipes with the UPJ connection to equip gas wells, gas-condensors and the oil fields of JSC “GAZPROM”.

Already, Interpipe-produced tubing and casing pipes with the UPJ connection are successfully used in the oil-rigs of Syria, the UAE, Morocco, Nigeria, Congo, Gabon and other countries.