TMK Ipsco Increases ULTRA Premium Connections Production Capacity
09/18/2009 - TMK Ipsco completes the first phase of its plan to expand the threading capacity of its ULTRA Premium Connections product line.
TMK Ipsco has completed the first phase of its plan to expand the threading capacity of its ULTRA Premium Connections product line.
When the ULTRA facilities were acquired in December 2006, their available production capacity was 400,000 ft per month (4600 tons per month).
The company implemented its expansion plan in response to a rapid increase in demand for its Premium Connections, in particular the ULTRA SF, which is used by E&P companies drilling in complex U.S. shale plays. As part of the first phase of its expansion, the company commissioned a third production line with a two-shift operation at the TMK-Houston facility, added a night shift at TMK-Odessa, and installed ULTRA manufacturing equipment at TMK-Tulsa. With the implementation of phase one, the company increased its production capacity to 1.25 million feet per month (14,375 tons per month).
In phase two of its expansion plan, the company will complete equipment installation and ramp up production at the Tulsa facility while also commencing work at TMK-Blytheville to facilitate the manufacture of ULTRA connections. With completion of the second phase of the expansion, the company’s total monthly production capacity will reach 1.5 million feet (17,250 tons) per month.
“The ULTRA SF, a semi-flush connection with a unique locked metal center shoulder seal, is a great example of developing, testing and then implementing a cost-effective solution to an on-going problem in the U.S. shale plays,” said Paul Fullerton, Director of Technical Sales and Product Development. “The need for high torque when rotating in the hole, the need to drill with the casing or liner, the need to withstand high fracturing pressures were the challenges proposed to us by our customer base. The ULTRA SF answered all those challenges and added one more advantage: economics that made sense in the challenging financial environment of 2009.
“Today,” added Fullerton, “8 of the top 12 operators working in the U.S. shale plays use the ULTRA line of connections.”
“Today,” added Fullerton, “8 of the top 12 operators working in the U.S. shale plays use the ULTRA line of connections.”
ULTRA connections have been used in shale plays since July 2004. Since then, their market share has grown to 30%, allowing them to become the most widely used Premium Connections in U.S. shale plays.
TMK Ipsco, a leading producer of energy tubulars, operates in North America as a division of TMK, the largest pipe producer in Russia and one of three global market leaders. TMK Ipsco operates one steel mill and nine pipe mills and product finishing facilities in seven states across the United States. The company’s pipe mills produce a wide range of seamless and welded energy tubular products including oil & gas well casing and tubing, line pipe, drill pipe, standard pipe and hollow structural sections. The company also manufactures premium connections for oil and natural gas drilling and production under the ULTRA brand name.
