Partnering with a coupling expert can facilitate meeting the industry’s most rigorous tolerance and quality standards
In the production of oil and gas, Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) such as casing, tubing, piping, and pipelines are the foundation of well and pipeline design. As a result, the industry mandates that OCTG products are manufactured according to American Petroleum Institute (API) standards and graded based on performance and materials used.
Unfortunately, couplings are under tremendous stress. Downhole pressures, high loads, and extreme torque requirements are pushing the limits of first-generation connections beyond the API and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards required of OCTG products.
As a result, the semi-premium and premium couplings are now in demand, and specialty machine shops that produce OCTG threaded couplings are stepping forward to resolve oil field challenges.
An industry leader in this effort, PTR Group LP, PTR Group, a multi-company business group that offers world-class contract manufacturing of components and subassemblies in metal and plastics, offers its customers needed solutions.
American Cap, a division of PTR Group, can customize couplings to meet the certification requirements of any OCTG customer. The company currently manufactures seamless coupling products including API – 5L and API – 5CT for the natural gas and oil industries.
Although the company can source the raw materials, they prefer to receive the metal coupling stock from the customer. American Cap can hold the stock in inventory and convert the parts, so the customer avoids paying the standard markups.
According to Jeff Kneubehl of Wheatland Tube, American Cap has produced many types of API couplings for them under this type of arrangement. “[American Cap does] everything needed for couplings. Moreover, their specifications, identification, and inspection are way beyond what we require,” says Kneubehl.
The PTR Group offers customers:
Precision parts from different types of materials including many types of metals, alloys.
Upgraded manganese phosphate coating, which provides the highest hardness as well as superior corrosion and wear resistance compared to traditional coatings like zinc phosphate.
Individual tracking of each coupling using a serial number for traceability, instead of tracking items by lot.
As the oil and gas industry faces increasing demands for coupling reliability and performance, OCTG manufacturers can meet the need by partnering with a coupling supplier with deep expertise in everything from materials to thread coatings.
For more information on PTR Group and their services please visit https://www.ptrgroup-mfg.com or contact them at (800) 448-0501.