ExxonMobil Corp. has granted a license to Nippon Steel covering patented field welding technology designed for use on high-pressure pipelines made with X120 ultrahigh-strength steel line pipe.
ExxonMobil Corp. has granted a license to Nippon Steel covering patented field welding technology designed for use on high-pressure pipelines made with X120 ultrahigh-strength steel line pipe.
The license includes the right to manufacture proprietary welding wire used in the pulsed gas metal arc welding process involved with the technology.
ExxonMobil said it developed the technology to ensure that field welding methods meet X120 strength requirements and be compatible with conventional pipeline construction practices.
ExxonMobil Upstream Research Co. and Nippon Steel developed X120 ultrahigh-strength line pipe. ExxonMobil said X120 is 50% stronger than X80, the strongest line pipe steel commonly used in gas transmission pipelines.
Bob Tippee has been chief editor of Oil & Gas Journal since January 1999 and a member of the Journal staff since October 1977. Before joining the magazine, he worked as a reporter at the Tulsa World and served for four years as an officer in the US Air Force. A native of St. Louis, he holds a degree in journalism from the University of Tulsa.
