Fluxo brought to Brazil the FlexSteel technology of flexible tubes with a steel core and internal and external HDPE (high-density polyethylene) coatings. With more than 30 years of experience, the American FlexSteel, based in Houston, Texas, has already manufactured and supplied a total of 8,000 km of tubes to 31 countries.
In Brazil, FlexSteel has already supplied around 150 km of 4" and 6" pipes to Petrobras/E&P, for onshore applications in the Urucu-AM region. These tubes are also widely used in offshore activities, in shallow waters up to 100 meters, and approximately 3,000 km of FlexSteel tubes are currently used in Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela.
In the agreement defined with Fluxo, FlexSteel will supply the flexible tubes and connections, and Fluxo will be in charge of all services, including the design, installation of the tubes, and after-sales assistance.
For now, the maximum diameter of the tubes is 8” and the maximum pressure is 3,000 PSI, but 10” tubes will soon be launched. The smallest diameter are 2” tubes. They are supplied on giant spools, in the same way as tubes for offshore use. 2” pipes can reach more than two km in length, without splicing. The 8” tubes are supplied in spools that allow deliveries of 500 meter tubes without seams, with great advantages in project implementation time.
Manufactured under globally recognized standards, FlexSteel flexible tubes withstand temperatures of up to 85ºC, and have high resistance to abrasion and impact, not being subject to internal or external corrosion. In this way, the operating and maintenance cost is much lower, as there is no need for cathodic protection systems or the use of corrosion inhibitors.
recommended applications
The flexible tube is very advantageous for applications in temporary pipelines, such as in areas where the product to be transported has a useful life that requires the customer to periodically change its route, such as in mature oil & gas fields.
Another important application is in the construction of long-distance pipelines, which would require long construction periods using steel tubes. With FlexSteel tubes, construction deadlines can be shortened by half or even a third of the time, with a great reduction in construction costs, and immediate availability of the duct for its use, providing a much faster return on investment.
Fluxo has already started studies to replace existing pipes with flexible pipes. Some pipes even allow the installation of flexible pipes inside them, with great savings in installation time, in addition to the services that can be classified as maintenance, and not as a new pipe, which requires new environmental licenses, with great advantage in shortening schedule.
FlexSteel factory visit
The president of Fluxo Hideo Hama visited the FlexSteel factory in Baytown, a city 45km from Houston-TX and was amazed at the technology used in its production and testing: “I recommend the visit of future users to the FlexStell factory, as it impresses with its robustness and reliability of existing technology”, emphasizes Hideo.