Pipes for Qatar Gas Berth 6 at the EEW plant. Courtesy of EEW.

The international liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade looks into boom years ahead: more than 40 million metric tons of annual capacity from greenfield projects worldwide is slated to go into operation over the next ten years. As a result in Qatar, LNG exports from the state’s Port of Ras Laffan are expected to reach 77 million tons per year by the end of 2010, making the Port the world’s largest LNG export terminal, over three times larger in capacity than its closest rival.

The global expansion of the LNG business bodes well for stainless steel pipe, as gas from wells is becoming increasingly sour and requires higher corrosion resistance from pipes than carbon steel can provide. The expansion bodes extremely well for Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk (EEW) of Germany, the world’s biggest producer of large-diameter stainless steel pipes. Today EEW’s business is largely in the oil and gas sector.

Serving its share in the Qatar LNG boom, EEW plays a major role in the Port of Ras Laffan expansion, supported by their long-time stainless plate supplier Outokumpu: EEW supplies the large-diameter pipes for the lines of Qatar Gas Berth 6, with Outokumpu as the stainless plate supplier for the pipes.

Berth 6 is a new docking facility at Ras Laffan. To do its share of loading the Port’s projected 1,120,000 cubic meters of LNG per year, Berth 6 needs 18km of EEW/Outokumpu pipe running in several parallel lines between the storage tanks and loading points.

To manufacture the pipes at its Erndtebrück plant in Germany, EEW takes more than 4,600 metric tons of Outokumpu plate of grade 1.4301/1.4307 (304/304L) and 12.7mm (0.5ʺ) thick. Outokumpu can produce this plate thickness both using the coil process and at its plate mills. In this case, EEW reaps benefit in production welding the pipes mainly from coil-process plate (CPP), while producing a small volume of the pipes from quarto plates.

James Heather, EEW’s Sales Director, comments on Outokumpu’s range of products: “With Outokumpu, we have one partner for both CPP and quarto plates.” EEW and Outokumpu have partnered earlier in major gas projects, and Mr. Heather sees more opportunities for two-way cooperation. “We have been very successful together in subsea pipelines,” he offers as an example.

The delivery of the Qatar Gas Berth 6 pipes is scheduled for completion by mid-summer 2008.

James Heather, EEW’s Sales Director, with a stainless sphere, a key visual element of the new Outokumpu corporate identity	Pipe for Qatar Gas Berth 6 at the EEW plant. Courtesy of EEW.

Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk Group (EEW)
A major producer of carbon steel SAW pipes (submerged-arc welded pipes), the Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk Group is the world’s largest producer of heavy-wall large-diameter stainless steel SAW pipes. While serving civil engineering projects (the top 150m of the world’s tallest tower, Burj Dubai, is being built with EEW pipe), the Group is heavily involved in the offshore industry and sees its growth in oil and gas. Today process pipes, pipe lines, offshore projects and terminals represent close to 95 percent of EEW’s business. The Group’s stainless steel pipe operations have expanded sixfold in six years’ time, consuming approximately 15,000 tons of plate and representing 21 percent of total capacity in 2007. EEW’s unique strengths among stainless steel pipe welders include a capability to produce 13.2-meter lengths without joints. The Group has production in its place of origin, Erndtebrück, Germany, in South Korea, and in Rostock, Germany.

Project
LNG pipes for the Berth 6 dock loading facility at the Port of Ras Laffan, part of the Qatar Gas project

Pipe manufacturer
Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Erndtebrück, Germany, at mills on the same location

Pipe dimensions
36ʺ 80s (914.4mm x 12.7mm)
34ʺ 10s (863.6mm x 7.92mm)
28ʺ 80s (711.2mm x 12.7mm) from quarto plate
30ʺ 80s (762mm x 12.7mm) from quarto plate
18km of pipe, close to 16km from one size (914.4mm x 12.7mm)

Pipe plate materials
Supplied exclusively by Outokumpu
4591 metric tons of grade 1.4301/1.4307 (304/304L) CPP, 12.7mm thick
42 tons of quarto plates of the same grade and thickness, 2.2m and 2.36m wide
Total 4633 metric tons

For further information, contact:
Peter Eickmanns
Key Account Manager
Outokumpu GmbH, Willich, Germany
tel. +49 21 54/49 62 37
Email: peter.eickmanns(at)outokumpu.com