How to accurately match the demand of steel pipe project?
There is no absolutely optimal steel pipe, only the most suitable scheme. Based on 22 years of project experience, Huayang summarized the "Scene Selection Guide" for three kinds of steel pipes, and verified its scientificity through practical cases.
ERW steel pipe: the "king of cost performance" with medium and low pressure and small diameter.
The core adaptation scenarios of ERW steel pipes (including HFW) are: projects with nominal diameter ≤DN300, working pressure ≤4.0MPa and high requirements on delivery cycle, such as municipal water supply, low-pressure gas and irrigation projects. The high efficiency of electric resistance welded steel pipe is brought into full play in these scenes-in Shijiazhuang municipal water supply project in 2024, 20,000 tons of DN150 ERW steel pipe not only saved 18% of the cost compared with LSAW, but also completed the installation 10 days ahead of schedule, which ensured the water supply demand during the summer peak.
Among the ERW products of Huayang, ASTM A53 Grade B is the best-selling model, accounting for 65% of the total ERW sales, which is mainly used for water supply and drainage of civil buildings. The HFW steel pipe focuses on serving the low-pressure branch line of oil and gas. In 2024, 8,000 tons of HFW steel pipe in Sichuan gas field won long-term cooperation orders from customers with its pressure resistance of 4.0MPa and quick delivery in 15 days.
SSAW Steel Pipe: the "Main Player" of Large Diameter and Long Distance Pipeline
SSAW steel pipe is suitable for long-distance pipelines with nominal diameter ≥DN500 and working pressure of 1.6-4.0MPa, such as natural gas long-distance pipelines and urban central heating pipelines. The fatigue resistance and raw material flexibility of spiral weld can effectively reduce the risk and cost of long-distance transportation. In 2024, Huayang supplied 30,000 tons of DN1000 SSAW steel pipe for a branch line of West-to-East Gas Pipeline, which passed through complex terrain such as mountains and river valleys. The stress dispersion advantage of spiral weld improved the anti-settlement ability of the steel pipe by 20%, and it has been running without any fault so far.
In large diameter steel pipes, SSAW has obvious cost advantages. Compared with DN1200 steel pipe, the cost per ton of SSAW is 1,200 yuan lower than that of LSAW, and the order of 100,000 tons can save 120 million yuan. Therefore, in the long-distance pipeline project, SSAW has a market share of over 60%.
LSAW Steel Pipe: High Pressure and Thick Wall "Safety Barrier"
LSAW steel pipe is a "just-needed product" in high-pressure scenes with nominal diameter ≥DN200 and working pressure ≥4.0MPa, such as oil and gas wellhead pipe, high-pressure gathering and transportation pipeline and deep-sea oil and gas pipeline. These scenes require extremely high strength and tightness of steel pipes, and the high strength characteristics of LSAW's straight seam become the core guarantee. In 2023, in a high-pressure gathering and transportation project of Sinopec, 15,000 tons of LSAW steel pipes were continuously operated for one year under the working pressure of 1.8MPa without leakage, and the qualified rate of weld flaw detection remained 100%, far exceeding the requirements of 98% of the project.
Although LSAW has high cost and long cycle, its advantages of "one-time investment and long-term safety" are irreplaceable in high-pressure risk scenarios. Although the annual production capacity of Huayang LSAW production line is only 150,000 tons (lower than 400,000 tons of ERW), the profit per ton is 1.5 times that of ERW, which is the high-end profit growth point of the enterprise.
