A brief history of pipes - from the Romans to today's oil and gas technology — OMS

Steel pipe fabrication

Methods for creating welded steel pipes were developed in the 1820s, after William Murdock created his system for transporting coal gas via the deeply inefficient method of joining together the barrels of discarded muskets. Comenius Whitehouse’s butt-welding method was developed in 1825 and forms the foundation of current pipe fabrication. In this process thin sheets of iron were heated then drawn through a cone-shaped opening to create a pipe shape.

Increased production and efficiency

From the mid-1800s steel production increased in volume and efficiency, particularly with the discovery of the Bessemer process in 1847, and thus the fabrication of steel pipes rose. Pipe production techniques continued to improve in the mid-1800s, with seamless pipe welding techniques, in which a pipe is fabricated by piercing a steel billet to create a tube, beginning to appear in the late 1800s.

Early oil and gas pipelines

The first commercial oil well in the US, Drake Well, was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859, sparking America’s first oil boom. But although the well produced great quantities of oil, transporting the oil from the well to refineries and onwards was a big problem. Moving barrels via horse-drawn cart or waterway was slow and expensive, inspiring oil companies to invest in pipeline technology, and in 1865 the first successful oil pipeline was built. Oil companies quickly discovered that transporting oil via pipeline left them less susceptible to theft or damage, was more convenient, more economical and more reliable. Increased production of high strength steel pipes meant it was now possible to transport oil and gas over large distances, and pipelines began to appear all over the world.  

Pipe innovations

Pipes for transporting oil and gas are still fabricated in the same way, either by folding and welding metal sheets together or making seamless tubes from steel billets. Since the mid-20th century technology has moved on and more recent innovations include the creation of corrosion-resistant coatings, increased use of computers and sensors to control pipelines, the development of “pigs” to clean pipe interiors, cathodic protection systems to reduce corrosion and extend pipe lifetime, machines to bend pipes in the field and new inspection systems to detect leaks or weak spots.

Safety and standards

Oil and gas operators are more focused on safety and standards than ever. The consequences of pipeline failure are so enormous, both to the environment and a company’s fortunes, that operators have invested heavily in increasing safety and inspection standards, with the result that pipes and pipelines are the safest they have ever been.

The production of seamless steel pipes has a history of nearly 100 years.

The use of steel pipes was started by a Scottish inventor in 1815 connecting the tubes to convey gas for lights. In 1836, the United Kingdom had a patent for the production of seamless steel pipes by the extrusion method, but it was not until 1885 that the German Mannismann brothers invented the process of directly producing seamless pipes from bar steel. The Mannismann brothers first invented the second in 1885. The roll cross-rolling piercing machine, invented the periodic tube rolling machine in 1891, and in 1903, the Swiss R Stiefel (RCStiefel) invented the automatic tube rolling machine (also known as the head-type tube rolling machine). Later, continuous tube rolling appeared All kinds of extension machines, such as machine and pipe jacking machine, began to form the modern seamless steel pipe industry.

In terms of welded pipes, patents were obtained in 1923. After low-frequency resistance welding and DC welding, it has now entered the era of high-frequency induction welding mainly used for the production of medium and small diameter steel pipes. In addition, for large-diameter steel pipes, U.O forming process submerged arc automatic welding is used to produce straight seam pipes, and spiral forming process submerged arc automatic welding is used to produce spiral steel pipes.

In the 1930s, seamless steel pipes adopted three-roll mills, extruders, and periodic cold-rolled pipe mills, which improved the variety and quality of steel pipes. In the 1960s, due to the improvement of the continuous rolling mill, the emergence of the three-roll piercing machine, especially the success of the application of the tension reducer and the continuous casting billet, improved production efficiency and enhanced the competitiveness of seamless steel pipes and welded pipes.

In the 1970s, seamless steel pipes and welded pipes went hand in hand, and the world's steel pipe production was increasing at an annual rate of more than 5%. After 1953, China attached great importance to the development of seamless steel pipe industry, and has initially formed a production system for rolling various large, medium and small pipes. Copper pipes generally also adopt ingot slanting piercing, tube rolling, and coil drawing processes.

The invention and development of various tube rolling mills have experienced success and failure. Any achievement of results requires perseverance. Take the currently widely used limited-movement mandrel continuous tube rolling mill as an example. It took 15 years from the rolling test in 1964 to the production of the first MPM in 1978. What an important role is perseverance.