Outokumpu quarto plate extends prestigious NORSOK certifications

Outokumpu’s largest quarto plate production unit in Degerfors, Sweden has extended its product offering certified by NORSOK standards and renewed its existing qualification. The extended approvals follow an extensive investment program at the mill, completed in 2014, through which the mill’s production capability and capacity were enhanced.

The NORSOK standards are developed by the Norwegian petroleum industry to ensure adequate safety and cost effectiveness for metals used in the oil and gas applications. Furthermore, NORSOK standards aim to set a uniform specification for the industry and serve as references in the authorities’ regulations. 

Standard for high quality processes

As part of the 100 million euro investment at the Degerfors mill, six new furnaces for heat treatment have been installed and the new batch furnaces have now been recognized to meet the process qualification requirements according to NORSOK M-650 Ed. 4. The process qualification was completed at the end of November 2015.

Says Veronica Sundberg, project leader for NORSOK approvals at Degerfors: “The NORSOK standard sets high demands for material properties, for example regarding corrosion resistance and microstructure. The NORSOK standard requires for example process stability and ability to do heat treatment within a narrow temperature range. This is something we have managed to improve significantly thanks to our recent investment in Degerfors.”

Increased thicknesses

“Immediately after we completed the process qualification for the new furnaces we started the process with product qualifications.”

On 21 December 2015 Outokumpu Quarto Plate mill in Degerfors received and renewed official qualification to produce according to NORSOK requirements material in grades Forta SDX 2507, Ultra 254 SMO and Ultra 6XN material in increased thicknesses and renewed existing NORSOK qualifications for SDX 100 and DX 2205 and including the latest DX / EDX 2304. 

“It is good to bear in mind that the certifications are not new to us and we have been approved to produce material according to NORSOK in the above-mentioned grades already before,” says Hachemi Loucif, Oil & Gas Segment Manager and a veteran in NORSOK approvals at Outokumpu. “Actually we have a very long history in Degerfors with NORSOK certification going all the way back to 1993 when we were among the first ones to receive NORSOK approvals in the industry.”
 
The received qualifications are also a solid proof of the enhanced capabilities at Degerfors following the recent investment. “Thanks to the latest qualifications, we are now able to serve customers requiring NORSOK approved material in a better way.”

Extensive NORSOK approved offering

Outokumpu delivers NORSOK approved material in different grades and dimensions from its mills in Avesta, Nyby and Degerfors (Plates and Long Products) in Sweden and Richburg, USA. Norsok approved material is delivered in Forta grades DX 2205, EDX 2304, SDX 2507 and SDX 100 as well as in Ultra grades 254SMO and 6XN. 

Pubblicato gen 14, 2016