New steel for pipelines from ExxonMobil, Nippon and Mitsui

New steel for pipelines from ExxonMobil, Nippon and Mitsui

Earlier this week ExxonMobil Upstream Research Co. which is a research unit of Exxon Mobil Corp. -a foremost global oil, natural gas and petrochemical company- announced that a letter of intent was signed with Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC) and Mitsui&Co.Ltd. to merchandise a high-strength new steel suitable for gas pipelines. It is also reported that compared to current pipeline steels this new steel is 20-50% stronger and has lower cost for long distances. Besides, natural gas demand is getting stonger globally and many gas resources which will provide the required gas are distant. Therefore because of the low cost advantage this steel will be a considerably required material especially for industrialized countries as natural gas is anticipated to constitute bulk of the total energy supply of these countries. According to the agreement, Nippon Steel's pipe mill may require revamp processes.