Long-distance cross-country crude oil pipeline; high-pressure transmission; corrosive soil environments; sour (H₂S-rich) hydrocarbon service; hydrogen sulfide acid gas gathering.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is one of the most significant oil infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa — a 1,443 km heated and insulated crude oil pipeline connecting Uganda's Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields to the Tanzanian coast at Tanga. ZC Steel Pipe's supply of 18,000 tonnes of API 5L X65M PSL2 LSAW 24″ FBE-coated line pipe to the project's Nigerian procurement office represents one of ZC's largest single-project deliveries by tonnage.
X65M PSL2 — why M and PSL2? The M suffix specifies a maximum yield limit (matching of SMYS ceiling), preventing over-strong steel that would create localized strain concentrations at girth welds in long-distance buried pipelines. PSL2 adds: mandatory Charpy V-notch impact testing at the minimum design temperature, tighter yield-to-tensile ratio limits, and controlled chemistry (lower carbon equivalent) to ensure girth weld toughness consistency across thousands of field welds.
LSAW at 24″: The EACOP design uses 24″ OD as the backbone diameter, matching the capacity required for Uganda's projected production ramp. At this diameter, LSAW (longitudinal submerged arc welded, UOE process) is the standard manufacturing route, providing consistent wall concentricity and weld quality compatible with automatic girth welding systems used in long-distance pipeline construction.
FBE coating for crude oil pipeline service: Fusion-bonded epoxy at the prescribed thickness provides cathodic disbondment resistance, high-temperature adhesion (important for a heated crude oil pipeline), and the bond strength required for field joint coating compatibility with liquid epoxy or heat-shrink sleeve field joint systems.
ZC Steel Pipe supplied this order with EN 10204 3.2 witness inspection by a client-approved third party, full traceability from heat chemistry through final coating test, and AUT (automated ultrasonic testing) of all pipe-body and seam weld records.