What cert for wellheads? - American Welding Society

By Lawrence Date 03-30- 13:33 Edited 03-30- 14:32 Ok since Al is like a dog with a bone on this one,  I'm gonna help him ganw on you  ... Heh

Since when do Manufacturers determine what code is used (or not used) on petrolium pressure vessles and pipes?

You mentioned earlier that the nitrogen pressure test was all that was requred.... I guess the marrow of the issue is... Who actually is requiring that pressure test?  And does *whoever* is governing this pressure testing requrement also have welding requirements that are just being ignored?  

Like you said;  and I believe you.... It's a different world out there in the oil patch and day to day things are done in the field as quickly as possible to get back into production.

I can totally see why a manufacturer would decline to mandate specific field procedures, knowing the conditions are so um.. variable?   

But its just hard to get my brain around the notion that if the welder wanted to he could...Gas Weld,  Mig, Tig, Laser, Stick or Subarc that Well Head on with any filler he felt like as long as the pressure test passed after the work was finished...   I realize that this may be the "reality"   But it's just difficult to think there isn't some governing code being bypassed in order to "get er done"....

Edit::  Cactus, your being a real good sport about this thread..  It's not like your a spokesman for Well Heads... But your taking the time to use your contacts and help those of us who don't have your kind of experience understand a whole different kind of world. By Date 03-30- 14:56 Edited 03-30- 15:06 Hello Shane;

Excellent stuff my friend.

The information appears to be specific to the one manufacturer, i.e., Hydril, and the requirements they have imposed on the welding operations. The qualification process, while based on ASME Section IX, has been modified to meet their specific needs.

I sound like a broken record here, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, "No one cares until something goes boom in the middle of the night." Then all hell breaks loose and the legal eagles begin to swarm and encircle the project.

I have to imagine Hydril operates much like the other manufacturers in the industry. They are lawyered up to the hilt and the welding specifications are there to protect them should something go wrong. Ignorance offers no protection to the independent contractor. It is incumbent on any business to ask what requirements need to be satisfied before work begins.

The manufacturer is in a position to play dumb (as a Fox) by saying the requirements are published, if the independent contractor doesn't ask for them, they assume the contractor knows what those requirements are based on the fact they regularly work in the industry. 

As an independent, saying "no one asked for my papers" is not going to protect the business in the event of a failure. Trust me, the manufacturer or engineering company is your best friend until something goes wrong.

The materials used by the manufacturers for various components are a serious unknown unless the welding contractor starts asking the right questions. What are the right questions? First and foremost; what welding standards/specifications apply to this job? The answer may depend on the manufacturer. Based on the information provided by our good friend Shane; I would say it varies from project to project, manufacturer to manufacturer.

The next question would be; what materials are being joined? Without that key bit of information the welding contractor cannot verify the proper qualified procedures are in place.

A quick review of Hydril's specification indicates the welding contractor's qualified welding procedures are to be reviewed and approved before any work is initiated. If that is not done, the manufacturer has the perfect "out" should anything go wrong. I can hear them on the witness stand now, "Judge, we had no idea Jimminie's Welding was even on the project, let alone welding on our equipment. They never submitted their welding procedures and they welded on our equipment without our explicit approval or knowledge."

Good bye "Jimminie's Welding", it was fun while it lasted.

As for the welder qualifications, since ASME Section IX is invoked (at least by Hydril), the welders cannot be qualified without following a qualified WPS. That qualified WPS has to be one that is applicable to the process, base metal, etc. and appropriate to the project.

I find it hard to fathom any independent contractor has invested the time and money needed to qualify WPSs and welders to meet the project requirements imposed by the different manufacturers and all the WPSs required to weld the multitude of base metals used by all the manufacturers providing equipment to the oil patch.

I have witnessed the qualification of a welding procedures using some of the casing used by the oil patch. It was fortunate that I was not providing expertise, I was simply witnessing the test. The pipe was equivalent to an AISI and highly hardenable when insufficient preheat was used and the Charpys, well it is best not to go there. The job had nothing to do with the oil field, but it was enlightening never the less to see what a contractor will attempt to do with absolutely no realization of what they are dealing with.

Best regards - Al