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Special to Pipeline & Gas Journal
As a key supplier to the Gulfstream Natural Gas System LLC's 753-- mile on and offshore pipeline project Berg Steel Pipe Corporation of Panama City, FL is challenged with producing high-- quality, defect-free linepipe at top levels of productivity. To do this, the company employs a number of innovative welding systems, which include a continuous seam tacking system as well as inside diameter (ID) and outside diameter (OD) pipe welding stations that use multiple wire welding techniques.
In comparison to two-wire submerged arc welding (SAW) systems, these techniques have created welding travel speeds that are three times greater for welding the ID and four times greater for OD welding on 0.820-inch thick pipes. In addition, total heat input has been decreased by 25 percent while overall mechanical weld properties have been improved by these systems. Overall, employing multiple-wire welding has enabled the mill to produce 40-foot-long 0.820-inch thick pipes at a rate of 14 pipes per hour.
The $1.6 billion Gulfstream pipeline that the pipe was manufactured for will originate near Pascagoula, MS, cross the Gulf of Mexico and then make landfall in Manatee County, FL. Once onshore the pipeline stretches across south and central Florida to Palm Beach County. Upon completion, the natural gas pipeline will serve Florida utilities and power generation facilities, generating 1.1 Bcf/d of additional natural gas -- enough to supply electricity for 4.5 million homes.
For Phase One of the project, the offshore portion, Berg along with its parent company, Europipe GmbH in Germany, supplied 443 miles of pipe in six months. In Phase Two, 292 miles of pipe will be produced for the onshore portion.
Transformation
The Lincoln Electric Company and its German subsidiary and system designer, Uhrhan & Schwill, supplied the welding systems being used to produce the pipe. These systems helped achieve the high production levels. "Welding technology has allowed us to transform a facility that was built in 1980 to produce 5,000 tons of pipe per month to a facility that produced more than 40,000 tons per month during the Gulfstream Project," said John Burton, general manager of production, Berg Steel Pipe. "We needed to add the multiple-wire processes because we don't have enough square footage to add more welding...