Seamless/ERW pipes in place of LSAW

[Shahpar]

Hi,

I am working on one project in which We are using various API 5L pipe sizes for on-plot piping.As per Piping Material Specification for size upto 6inch Seamless pipes and above 6inch LSAW pipes have been recommended.
As per client standard ERW and spiral Weld pipes are not allowed in on-plot piping.As per Vendor statement LSAW pipes are not feasible for less than 16 inch pipes sizes, their justification is material wastage of plates; which result cost of LSAW pipes more than Seamless Pipes. Therefore, Vendor is advising to go with the option of Seamless or ERW pipes in place of LSAW for below 16 inch pipes.

ERW pipes cannot be used as per client standard specification, but there is no limitation mentioned to use LSAW pipes upto 14 inch.

Can anyone provide expert opinion why ERW is not recommended for on-plot piping and what are the advantages to use LSAW pipes for on-plot piping.Moreover, is vendor statement correct that in LSAW pipes; material wastage realy occurs which result increase in cost more than Seamless pipes for size upto 14 inch.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pennpiper]

Shahpar,
Your statement included this line:
"As per client standard ERW and spiral Weld pipes are not allowed in on-plot piping".
This suggests to me that the Client's Piping Material Standard is based on (or is in fact) very old thinking. Fifty to seventy five years ago the big refiners (BP, Shell, Standard Oil, EXXON, Mobil, etc) all included this thinking in their Standards and Specifications for Onsite facilities. However in the last twenty years I have seen some relaxation of this due to the higher quality automatic welding resulting in a better reliability record for Seamless.

At this point, if the Client is not willing to consider a change to the in-house Standard and is willing to pay whatever the small higher cost difference in the Seamless pipe then you should respect their wishes.

Sometimes its possible to do all the right things and still get bad results

 

[weldstan]

Good luck finding LSAW pipe under 16" diameter! Per your contract purchase seamless to 14" and LSAW for larger diameters.