Finishing - May-June 2023

18 PAINT
Premium connection
With extreme oil and gas supply
shortages looming ever closer and
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve of
the United States reaching its lowest level in
38 years, the equipment used in the oil and
gas industry must run as smoothly as possible.
When the two stainless steel parts of a
threaded coupling are in direct contact with
one another, the constant friction can result in
the galling of the metal, wherein the threads
seize or abrade - this can cause the joint
elements to jam or damage the threads
themselves.
For parts such as Oil Country Tubular
Goods (OCTGs), this threatens leaks and oil
blowouts and can often halt the production
processes that the parts are responsible for.
And so, the economic effects can be more
than simply getting the parts replaced or
repaired, which is increasingly undesirable at a
time when oil and gas supplies are as low as
they are.
Newly manufactured stainless-steel
couplings at risk of galling and seizing need a
thin layer of copper coated onto their threads.
These threaded connections, often called
premium threaded connections, are an
attempt to improve the American Petroleum
Institute's standards for threaded pipes and
couplings used in OCTGs.
These oil and gas pipes can be very large in
size and the threads that need to be plated
are at the ends of the pipe. Therefore,
standard tank plating is impractical and, in
most cases, impossible. Due to their fragile
nature or risk of compromise, there is no
margin for error for parts used in this industry
and it is required that they undergo a
selective plating approach.
Selective plating is a portable electroplating
method used to enhance, repair, and refurbish
localized areas on manufactured components,
allowing for the electrolytic coating of
localized surfaces without electroplating tanks.
As an industry leader in selective plating,
companies across the globe have relied on
SIFCO ASC to coat their threaded
connections for many years.
Consistency in the copper
plating of premium threaded
connections.
The two leading oil field thread design
licensors, VAM and Tenaris, have recently
instituted programs to establish a standard
procedure for qualification, evaluation, and
acceptance of copper selective plating. This
procedure requires operators to receive formal
and specialized training and certification from
an "approved selective brush plating vendor"
to apply selective copper plating to the
premium threaded connections provided by
VAM and Tenaris.
In response to these new specifications,
SIFCO ASC, the global leader in selective
electroplating and anodizing services, has
developed its selective plating certification:
Copper Select®. Having received approved
vendor status by both licensors, SIFCO ASC is
sanctioned to train and qualify operators from
around the globe in selective plating methods
in line with the VAM and Tenaris
specifications.
SIFCO ASC has been offering training
courses since their inception. Indeed, Copper
Select® was added and qualified in 2013 to
the portfolio of training courses, which
includes the Basic Training Course and the
Cadmium/Zinc Nickel Certification Training
Course, amongst others. All these training
courses can be available worldwide by SIFCO
ASC either at their facilities in Cleveland, Ohio
and or on-site at the customer's location of
choice.
Passing SIFCO ASC's Copper Select®
Certification requires the completion of a
weeklong training course and submitting
qualification samples for approval. Upon
completing the process, the licensee will be
permitted to selectively plate copper onto
Premium Threaded Connections via the
technique taught in SIFCO ASC's Copper
Select® training course. However, to maintain
the integrity of the Copper Select® process,
qualified licensees will be audited annually by
SIFCO ASC themselves.
Finishing - May/June 2023