Exxon Mobile Licenses X120 Pipe Welding for Nippon Steel

Nippon Steel and Exxon Mobile announced on Wednesday they reached world first license agreement on Exxon Mobile’s technology to weld high strength line pipe with X120 grade of American Petroleum Institute. Through the license, Nippon Steel is now world sole pipe maker with production technology and welding technology for X120 grade steel pipe.

Exxon Mobile developed the welding material and technology for X120 grade steel pipe to realize high strength and high toughness as a part of the development program. The firm succeeded to develop pulse gas metal arc welding process with argon gas, which can be performed by general welding equipments in pipe line construction industry.

Exxon Mobile licenses Nippon Steel on the related technology including welding material making license along with welding technology for line pipe.

Nippon Steel and Exxon Mobile developed X120 grade high strength steel pipe for line pipe. Nippon Steel makes the pipe at Kimitsu works. The pipe with 1.5 times of strength compared with traditional X80 grade enables high pressure and large diameter pipe line construction for distribution efficiency.

World natural gas demand is expected to growth by 60% in next 20 years when the clean energy demand increases under the rapid growing energy demand. The gas developers seek more cost efficient pipe line when the gas development gets into severer and far away areas from the consuming areas. Nippon Steel tries to contribute to the cost competitive gas development by supplying high strength pipe for line pipe.