Wellheads, X-mas trees, and BOPs require BÖHLER steels with high strength and corrosion resistance. Key quality features include ultra-clean materials, full traceability, controlled heat treatment, and rigorous testing for safe operation.
Wellhead systems, Christmas trees, manifolds (including tubing hangers), and blowout preventers (BOPs) are among the most critical safety components in oil and gas operations. These systems operate under extreme pressures, temperature variations, and highly corrosive environments containing H₂S, CO₂, brines, and hydrocarbons. Material requirements are therefore exceptionally stringent, focusing on high strength, fracture toughness, resistance to stress corrosion cracking, and immunity to hydrogen embrittlement. In addition, reliable sealing performance and dimensional stability under cyclic loading are essential to ensure safe well control and prevent catastrophic failures.
BÖHLER high-performance steels and alloys are specifically engineered to meet these demanding and safety-critical requirements. Advanced quenched and tempered steels, corrosion-resistant alloys (CRA), and precipitation-hardened stainless steels provide optimized combinations of strength, toughness, and resistance to aggressive media. Produced using advanced melting and refining technologies, BÖHLER materials ensure exceptional cleanliness, low inclusion content, and homogeneous microstructures, significantly enhancing fatigue resistance and reliability. Key quality features include strict control of chemical composition, certified traceability, and precisely controlled heat treatment processes tailored to meet industry standards such as API requirements. Comprehensive testing, including fracture toughness, corrosion resistance, and non-destructive inspection, ensures consistent performance. BÖHLER materials enable safe, durable, and reliable operation of wellhead and pressure control systems.
BÖHLER N700 is a corrosion-resistant steel in the form of bars, wire and forgings in the solution-annealed condition. It is a martensitic, precipitation-hardenable chromium-nickel-copper steel with high strength and toughness. Further increases in strength can be achieved by cold forming and subsequent precipitation hardening. These products are typically used for parts that require higher corrosion resistance than the usual 13% or 17% chromium steels and high strength up to 316 °C. However, their use is not limited to such applications. Remelting processes are used to improve steel purity and homogeneity. (ESR, PESR, VAR) Certain processing methods and operating conditions can make these products susceptible to stress corrosion cracking. For applications such as bolting where stress corrosion cracking is possible, the product should be aged for at least 4 hours at the highest temperature compatible with the strength requirements, but in no case lower than 552 °C. Typical applications for reactor construction and highly stressed pump parts, springs and ship shafts.
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