Study on the Welding Parameters of Steel Pipes for Higher Sulfide Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance for Field Application

The Sulfide Stress Corrosion Cracking (SSCC) resistance of structural steels is one of the critical concerns for the operators, material designers, and fabricators of oil-field equipment, especially treating sour gas (H2S) containing fluids. As far as its fabricators concerned, the systematic care of welding parameters should be taken to obtain comparable SSCC resistance of their weldment to that of its base material. In this respect, every different type of welding joint design for this use should be verified to be SSCC-proof with relevant test procedures. In this study, the welding parameters to secure a proper SSCC resistance of steel pipe's weldments were reviewed on the Welding Procedure Qualification Records (WPQR), which had been employed for actual fabrication of an offshore structure for oil and gas production. Based on this review, a guideline of welding parameters, such as, heat input, welding consumable for Y.S. 65 ksi class steel pipe material is proposed in terms of the NACE criteria for SSCC resistance.