Titanium

Overview

Applying Titanium Alloys in Drilling

and Offshore Production Systems
R.W. Schutz, C.F. Baxter, and P.L. Boster
Titanium alloys have been found to provide substantial cost and operational benefits in offshore production and drilling systems. Properties such as high strength, low
density, exceptional corrosion resistance, and
inherent flexibility have made the alloys a
viable choice for equipment including drilling risers, drill pipe, and tapered stress joints.
In most cases the most successful applications will marry titanium and steel together
in a hybrid fashion. This paper provides an
overview of known and potential benefits of
certain high strength titanium alloys in a
variety of offshore applications.

that make them highly

attractive for dynamic
drilling and offshore production components.
These attributes include:24
High compressive
and tensile strength.
Low density (almost
half the density of
steel), which, combined with high
strength, allows the
design of very lightFigure 1. A typical Grade 23 titanium joint (with mud booster
line) utilized in the Heidrun field TLP drilling riser, with allweight components.
INTRODUCTION
titanium peripherals.
Inherent flexibility.
An elastic modulus
The application of titanium alloy comtion of traits, including high strength,
approximately 50% less than steels
ponents in hydrocarbon drilling and offexcellent fabricability, high mill
means lower bending stress and enshore production operations has inproducibility, and low alloy formulahanced fatigue life in deflection-concreased significantly over the past sevtion cost.1,2 The appropriate alloys for
trolled situations.
eral years.14 Titanium alloy compounds
High fatigue resistance in air and
permit expansion of hydrocarbon drillthese applications are indicated in Table
seawater.
ing and production envelopes to greater
I. The standard Grade 5 alloy is best for
Resistance to well fluids, including
water depths and into deeper wells, indrill pipe, where yield and fatigue
sweet or sour produced brine fluvolving higher temperatures and more
strength are critical, whereas the two
ids, to as high as 300C.
corrosive (e.g., more sour) production
other extra-low interstitial grades are
Seawater resistance of both base and
environments. Titaniums unique suite
suitable for more fracture-critical dyweld metal up to 300C.
of properties makes it attractive for dynamic riser components. The more cor Exceptional erosion resistance to
namic and/or marine service; offers inirosion-resistant, ruthenium-bearing
high-velocity flowing fluids, includtial savings on individual component
Grade 29 alloy is chosen over Grade 23
ing seawater, even when fine solids
and/or overall project/system cost; and
when service temperatures exceed apare entrained (e.g., drill muds, sand).
provides life-cycle cost savings stemproximately 7580C to preclude crev High durability/damage tolerance,
ming from reduced maintenance and
ice and/or stress corrosion, and/or when
with good plasticity and fracture
expanded life. Increased commercial
compliance to the NACE MR-01-75 Stanresistance in air and seawater.
availability, familiarity, and successful
dard for sour service is mandated.1,2 All
fabrication and service experience with
these alloys are readily weldable via conALLOY/PRODUCT
titanium alloy products to date have
ventional, well-established fusion methMETALLURGY
also contributed to their acceptance into
ods (typically gas tungsten arc), or by
The drilling and offshore component
this arena.
more rapid solid-state methods.2,3
applications overviewed here depend
DRILLING
RELEVANT MATERIAL
on Ti-6Al-4V-based alpha-beta titanium
PROPERTIES
Offshore Drilling Risers
alloys that have been modified for optimum performance in each application.
Certain titanium alloys offer a unique,
Lighter risers are needed when drillThis alloy base is the most practical and
synergistic combination of physical,
ing for oil and gas in deep water. These
lowest cost choice based on a combinamechanical, and corrosion properties
risers are hung from the floating drill
vessel and made structurally stable by
Table I. Ti-6Al-4V-Based Alloys Selected for Drilling and Offshore Production
applying high tensions to them. Tension
Components
requirements can be minimized by atAlloy Nom.
ASTM
Min. YS
taching buoyancy modules or by selectComposition
Grade
MPa
ing a lighter riser material than steel,
(wt.%)
(UNS No.)
(ksi)
Target Oilfield Applications
such as composites or titanium. BuoyTi-6Al-4V
5
827
Short-radius + extended-reach drill pipe,
ancy modules can often provide a solu(std. grade)
(R56400)
(120)
offshore platform tensioner components
tion, but they only add to cost and deck
Ti-6Al-4V ELI
23
759
Deep water drilling risers, choke/kill lines,
weight when the drilling vessel is in
(0.13% max. O)
(R56407)
(110)
dynamic production/export risers, taper stress
transit. Although composites provide a
joints, fasteners
potentially lighter solution, titanium ofTi-6Al-4V-Ru
29
759
Dynamic production/export risers, taper stress
fers many advantages: it is more dam(ELI/0.13% max. O)
(R56404)
(110)
joints, jumpers
age tolerant, readily inspectable by con2001 April JOM

33

ventional techniques during manufacture and in service, and represents an

available, proven technology with a successful track record.
The first large-scale application of titanium alloys to drilling risers was for
the Heidrun tension leg platform (TLP)
in the Norwegian sector of the North
Sea.1,5 This high-pressure riser is comprised of thirty 559 mm inside diameter
(ID) 25 mm wall 14.6 m long joints
consisting of Grade 23 titanium tubulars
and butt-welded forged flanges. This
riser had to operate in close proximity to
production risers in 350 m of water, and
a steel drilling riser would have collided
with the adjacent risers. The titanium
riser could be tuned to avoid collision
while offering other dramatic benefits
including:
Reducing riser tension requirements
from 1,000 tonnes to 375 tonnes,
thereby reducing tensioner size.
Eliminating a flexible joint at the
riser bottom that would have been
too large to handle within the platform drilling structure.
Reducing the weight to be lifted
with the platform system and supported on the storage structure.
Eliminating surface coatings and
buoyancy modules.
A cost-benefit study conducted by the
operator (Conoco Norway) revealed that,
although the titanium riser cost more
than a steel riser, the total system cost
was actually reduced by almost 40%.5
The ease of riser-joint handling and the
compact flanges also minimized string
running times.
One of these riser joints is pictured in
Figure 1. All peripherals, including the
mud booster lines, stub connections,
support plates, and flange studs were
made of titanium as well. Concerns for
wear between the rotating steel drill

Table II. Estimated Fatigue Life Comparison Between 2.875 in. OD

Titanium and Steel Drill Pipe (80 RPM, ROP = 6 m/h)
103 Cycles
Number of
Radius of
to Failure
Wells Drilled
Curvature
Cycles/
(m)
Well
Steel
Ti
Steel
Ti
12.2
15,100
0.5
23.9
0
2
13.7
17,000
1.7
129.1
0
8
15.2
18,900
4.7
585.1
0
31
16.8
20,700
11.9
2,295
1
111
18.3
22,600
27.9
3,000
1
133

string and the inner wall of the riser

were overcome via a thin, field-repairable nitrile rubber liner bonded to the
riser bore. The riser, designed to drill
and service all 56 Heidrun Field wells,
was delivered by RMI Titanium in May
1995 and has provided successful service to date.
Although this riser was a highly successful demonstration of the technology, market prospects for all-titanium
drilling risers appear rather limited.
More economical, practical use of titanium in these systems is expected to be
as steel/titanium and/or composite/titanium-hybrid components, which target titanium for areas of critical performance. For example, a prototype composite riser joint, which incorporates a
titanium inner tube (liner) to retain pressure and titanium alloy flanges, is being
installed and tested on the Heidrun TLP.
Conoco and Kvaerner found titanium to
be more physically and environmentally
compatible with composites than steel,
while further reducing joint weight.
A highly promising application involves the incorporation of Grade 23
titanium tapered stress joints (TSJs) into
the bottom of steel drilling riser strings
in place of bulky conventional flex joints.
These TSJs, such as one used on the
Heidrun TLP riser, offer a lower-cost
means to reduce wear between the rotating drill string and riser
casing ID because of the
more gradual, continuous curvature inherent
with this joint. Together
with a nitrile rubber bore
liner, these joints can
even eliminate riser wear
while reducing riser tension and extending drilling operations into more
Figure 2. Pin-end view of titanium drill pipe joints used for shortsevere weather.
radius drilling operations.
Substantial weight
savings may also be
achieved on conventional steel deep-water
drilling risers by incorporating titanium into
the choke and kill lines
and BOP hydraulic lines
attached to the riser periphery. These steel lines
represent as much as 50%
of the total riser joint asFigure 3. Titanium TSJs for termination of top-tensioned steel
sembly weight. Studies
risers at the sea floor.
34

by RTI Energy Systems found potential

to reduce the total drilling riser weight
by about 30%.
Drill Pipe

Short-Radius Drilling
Re-entry short-radius horizontal drilling offers a means to improve hydrocarbon production rates and extend the life
of reservoirs. When drilling to a radius
of curvature of 18 m or less, conventional steel alloy drill pipe fails prematurely from rotational fatigue and physical
wear. Drill pipe constructed from aluminum or fiber composites with greater
flexibility have been used but are severely limited by wear damage, corrosion, physical durability, and/or torque
capacity. RTI Energy Systems and Grant
Prideco (Houston) have developed a
unique titanium drill pipe joint that provides the lowest-cost solution for extending drill string life during shortradius well drilling.
As pictured in Figure 2, these drill
pipe joints consist of a Grade 5 titanium
pipe body to which standard Cr-Mo steel
tool joints are mechanically attached.6
This design avoids tool joint hard-banding and galling concerns while providing high flexibility and fatigue life from
the low-modulus, high-strength pipe
body. Table II provides an example of
the dramatic fatigue-life extensions that
are possible in 2.875 in. outside diameter
(OD) titanium vs. steel drill pipe at several tight drilling radii.6
Ten wells of approximately 18 m radius of curvature have been successfully
drilled within the United States since
June 1999 using 2.875 in. OD titanium
drill pipe. Smaller 2.5 in. OD drill pipe
joints have recently been provided to
drilling contractors to offer extended life
when drilling tighter (1215 m) radius
wells. The non-magnetic character of titanium is also attractive, permitting well
surveying without magnetic interference.
Extended-Reach Drilling
Current drilling envelopes using
heavy, conventional steel drill strings
are limited to roughly 6 km total vertical
depth (TVD) and 7.69.1 km horizontal
reach (at shallower depths). Extensive
modeling studies conducted by RTIES
and Grant Prideco confirm that lightweight 56 5/8 in. OD titanium drill
JOM April 2001

Titanium Tapered Stress Joints

Angular deflections in a riser that concentrate bending stress where the riser
terminates at the seabed or the platform
can be accommodated by a rubber/steel
composite spherical joint (flex joint) or a
metallic TSJ. Metallic TSJs offer certain
advantages over flex joints: TSJs are designed compactly, easy to inspect, gas
tight, operate to higher temperatures,
and provide controlled curvature for
each ID passage of drill pipe, tubing, or
tools.1,4 Due to the combination of lower
modulus, high strength, and superior
corrosion resistance, titanium alloys offer dramatic design advantages over steel
for TSJs. Titanium TSJs to date are typically one-third the length of an equivalent steel joint, while transmitting onethird the bending moment to the support structure.4 This length decrease becomes even more dramatic as load, deflection, and/or pipe diameter increase.
Titanium TSJs often cost the same or less
than the longer steel TSJs.

Titanium/Steel
Hybrid Risers

Figure 4. A titanium TSJ for platform hang-off of a steel catenary

riser.

FPSO
Semi

Increasing Amount of
Titanium Required

Difficult

Although titaniums
Difficult
Spar/TLP
properties make it an
ideal material for dyLower
1500 m
1500 m
350 m
150 m
Higher
namic, catenary producWaves or
GOM
Vring
Asgard
Northern Waves or
tion and export risers, its
Deeper
North Sea Shallower
higher cost compared to
Figure 5. Feasibility regime for titanium utilization in a 25 cm OD
steel relegates its use to
catenary production riser as a function of platform type, seawhere it is economically
state, and water depth.
justifiable by reducing
(semi-submersibles and FPSOs), more
overall system cost, or as an enabling
titanium had to be incorporated into the
technology. An extensive modeling
riser to achieve feasibility.
study funded by five major oil compaThese studies also revealed the dranies was conducted to identify where
matic benefits for incorporating titanium
titanium offers advantages over steel in
in the zone of a metallic catenary riser
catenary riser systems. The study inwhere it touches down on the seabed.
cluded production and export risers atUsing titanium over steel in this zone
tached to TLPs, SPARS, semienables the catenary to be steeper since
submersibles, and floating production,
the curvature can be smaller, due to its
storage, and offshore loading systems
lower modulus, requiring significantly
(FPSOs) in the Gulf of Mexico and northless platform tension. This translates into
ern North Sea environments. The relreduced platform buoyancy, support,
evant application regime identified for
and mooring requirements, all of which
titanium alloys in a typical production
have significant economic benefits.
riser is depicted in Figure 5. An all-steel
riser design was possible for deep water,
References
a mild environmental condition, and a
1. R.W. Schutz and H.B. Watkins, Recent Developments in
stable platform (e.g., TLPs). However, as
Titanium Alloy Application in the Energy Industry, Matewater depth decreased, sea states inrials Science and Engineering, A243 (New York: Elsevier Science, 1998), pp. 305315.
creased, and platform stability decreased
2. C.F. Baxter and R.W. Schutz, Critical Design Aspects of

Table III. Titanium Stress Joints Delivered and/or In-Service in the Gulf of Mexico
and North Sea
Year
Customer/Project
Quantity
Delivered
Description
Placid Oil/Green Canyon
1
1986
Production Riser Array
Bottom TSJ (Structural)
Conoco-Norway Inc./Heidrun
2
1995
22 in. ID Drilling Riser
Bottom TSJ
Oryx Energy/Neptune
15
1996-1998
9-5/8 in. Production Risers
Bottom TSJs
Sonsub
1
Intervention Riser
Shell/Macaroni
2
Catenary Risers
Top TSJs
British Borneo/Allegheny
7
1998
4 in. and 12 in. Catenary Risers
Top TSJs
BP/King
2
2001
7.3 in. ID Catenary Risers
Top TSJs
Mariner Energy + Agip/King Kong
2
2001
5.2 in. ID Catenary Risers
Top TSJs

2001 April JOM

All Steel

Unfeasible

OFFSHORE PRODUCTION

RTI Energy Systems

has designed and fabricated the vast majority
of Grade 23 and 29 TSJs
that have been installed
on TLPs and SPAR platforms to date (Table III).7
Photographs of titanium
TSJs incorporated into
dynamic steel risers at
subsea wellheads and as
platform hangoffs are
presented in Figure 3 and
Figure 4, respectively.
The market for titanium
TSJs continues to grow
based on their relatively
low cost and successful
service record to date.

pipe can dramatically expand this drilling envelope, and may be the only viable
solution for developing attractive deep
water and ultra-deep (9.1 km TVD) fields.
This technology stems from dramatically reducing string tension and drag
loads (string pick-up loads reduced by
approximately 30%), reducing torque by
3040%, and overcoming hydraulic limitations by using larger OD pipe in titanium. This translates into reduced
topside equipment and power requirements, a reduced number of platform/
drilling centers, and/or use of larger OD
strings to increase penetration rates,
thereby reducing drilling time and overall cost. Steel casing and blow-out
preventer wear can also be expected to
diminish from lower tension titanium
drill strings used in offshore drilling operations. Efforts are under way to qualify
prototype titanium drill strings for specific ultra-deep Gulf of Mexico fields to
be developed within the next few years.

Dynamic Titanium Alloy Risers, OMAE-96-731M (Paper

presented at the 15th ASME Int. Conf. Offshore Mechanics
and Arctic Eng., Florence, Italy, 1996).
3. C.F. Baxter, S. Pillai, and G. Hutt, Advances in Titanium
Risers for FPSOs, OTC 8409 (Paper presented at the Offshore Technol. Conf., Houston, TX, 1997).
4. V. Baugus, C. Baxter, and A. Trim, Use of Titanium Taper
Joints in Risers-the Neptune Field and Future Designs,
OMAE-98-0365 (Paper presented at the 17th Int. Conf. Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Eng., 1998.
5. C.W. Sauer et al, Lighter Titanium Translates into Lower
Riser Costs, Drilling Technology, Hart Publications, Houston, TX, 1996).
6. J. Smith et al., Titanium Pipe Proving Ideal for ShortRadius Drilling, The American Oil & Gas Reporter, (September 2000), p. 69.
7. A. Trim, Progress in Metallic Riser Technology, (Paper
presented at the Fourth Int. Conf. Advances in Riser Tech.,
Aberdeen, Maryland, May 1999).
R. W. Schutz is with RMI Titanium Company. C.F. Baxter and
P.L. Boster are with RTI Energy Systems. F.H. Froes is with the
Institute for Materials and Advanced Processes at the University
of Idaho.

For more information, contact R.W. Schutz, RMI

Titanium Company, 1000 Warren Avenue, Niles,
Ohio, 44446; (330) 544-7846; fax (330) 544-1002;
e-mail rschutz@rmititanium.com

35