In May, Fluxo and its American partner FlexSteel Pipeline Technologies celebrated the receipt of the Product Conformity Certificate from ABNT (Brazilian Association of Technical Standards) for high-strength flexible steel pipes from 2" to 8" in diameter. achievement made FlexSteel the only manufacturer of flexible tubes certified in Brazil.
Manufactured in Baytown, Texas, FlexSteel flexible tubing meets the requirements of globally recognized standards such as API–17J, API-15S and API-Q1, and is capable of withstanding pressures up to 3,000psi. In addition to the Brazilian certificate, FlexSteel is also certified in the United States (ISO – 9001 and Lloyd's Register EN–13628-2 and EN–13.628-11), Canada (CSA -2662), Latin America (ICONTEC) and Russian Federation (FSETAN ).
With technology improved in more than 30 years of experience in high severity offshore applications, in 2003 FlexSteel began manufacturing flexible pipelines for land use and for shallow water up to 100 meters deep, intended for the flow of oil, gas and water , in addition to the injection of salt water, gas and CO² into production fields.
Due to its internal mesh in carbon steel, internally and externally coated with HDPE (high density polyethylene), FlexSteel tubes have a high tolerance to damage and resistance to abrasion, not being subject to internal or external corrosion, thus dispensing with treatments anticorrosives and cathodic protection, which provide very low operating and maintenance costs.
Submitted to rigorous quality control tests in the factory and in the field, after installation, FlexSteel flexible tubes are supplied in coils or coils of up to 2 thousand meters in length for 2" diameter tubes or approximately 400m for tubes. 6", which allows the replacement of hundreds or thousands of welds by a small number of stainless steel connectors, with the consequent reduction in the construction period by 40 to 80%, and the investment value in the order of 20%.
More than 8 thousand km of these tubes have already been manufactured and installed in 31 countries, including Brazil, where Petrobras uses around 150 km of FlexSteel tubes in Urucu, in the Amazon Region.
Roberto Bastos da Silva Jr, Fluxo's Engineering & Systems and Services Executive Manager, highlights: “The intense work of ABNT, FlexSteel and Fluxo has made it possible to make this important technological instrument available for the demands of the production, transport and distribution of natural gas in Brazil, promoting agility and economy in new pipeline projects, vital for the development and strengthening of the Brazilian oil & gas market”.
ABNT's Deputy Director of Certification Antonio Carlos de Oliveira also highlighted that “Product certification goes step by step with technological evolution. New materials and new technologies are developed and the demand for safety, reliability, performance and preservation of the environment is requested by the market and the end customer, which are increasingly demanding. ABNT, as a certifying body, contributes to carry out the certification process in a consistent manner, complying with standards, regulations and legislation, aiming at product compliance and the satisfaction of stakeholders.”