With the recent increase in Oil and Gas prices and the predicted production decline of mature fields, reserves containing high levels of corrosive species operating at high temperature and pressure, are becoming increasingly attractive and financially viable to develop.

Operation safety and protection of the surrounding environment are always the first priorities for pipeline engineers. The stringent requirements of the industry are traditionally guaranteed through selection of suitable materials type e.g. carbon steel or corrosion resistant alloys. The decision is taken based on physical properties, cost and life cycle analysis.

Due to their excellent track record and cost saving benefits, the demand for offshore clad pipes has risen rapidly. Some examples include the BP Rhum and Talisman Tweedsmuir projects for the UK, Chevron Gorgon and Jansz projects in Australia.

Clad pipe manufacturers employ several production methods and cover a wide range of sizes but capacity in the larger diameters is limited. To tackle this issue, Corus Tubes Energy Business (CTEB) has actively developed clad pipes, manufactured using the UOE process route. To aid this development CTEB has recently invested in dedicated manufacturing equipment.

This paper explores the analysis undertaken to prove the capability to produce large diameter clad linepipe using the UOE production process, through which the paper summarises the manufacture of 316L metallurgically clad plates, into longitudinally submerged arc welded UOE pipes at the Hartlepool 42” Pipe Mill. The report identifies the production route and chemistry of typical feedstock material, followed by the manufacturing route within the pipe mill, the selection of welding process for the replacement of the CRA layer, and finally, the mechanical properties of the pipe material are presented.