POOC

POOC WELDING GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FOR SLIP-ON CONNECTIONS, Revision 0
THIS GUIDELINE IS SUBJECT TO POOC DRILLING SUPERVISORS DISCRETION

1 GENERAL

1.1 This Engineering Bulletin is intended to provide guidance in the development of proper
Welding Procedure Specifications. This Engineering Bulletin alone should NOT be
considered a Welding Procedure Specification. POOC should employ a qualified welder
and us an approved welding procedure that is applicable to the casing head material and
casing grade.

1.2 Casing heads are frequently welded to a number of grades of casing. Casing heads are
typically manufactured from chromium/molybdenum low alloy steels such as AISI
4130/4140 type forgings in the Quenched and Tempered conditions to meet API 60K
requirements. Because of high hardenability and carbon equivalence, such steels have
the potential to crack as a result of welding. Therefore, it is imperative that proper
welding procedures and post weld heat treatments are developed and strictly adhered
to.

1.3 A large factor in the production of integral weldments of casing head to casing is the
welder's skill. The welder's ability to produce a satisfactory weld should be ascertained
prior to welding.

1.4 Whenever possible, a developed Welding Procedure Specification should aim for the
properties of the completed welds to resemble, as closely as practicable, the properties
of the base metals particularly with respect to tensile strength, ductility, notch toughness,
hardness and corrosion resistance.

Figure 1

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POOC WELDING GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR SLIP-ON CONNECTIONS, Revision 0
THIS GUIDELINE IS SUBJECT TO POOC DRILLING SUPERVISORS DISCRETION

2 WELDING

2.1 Process

All welding shall be performed using manual Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) process.

2.2 Welding Conditions

2.2.1 The welding environment must be controlled. The weld must be protected from
adverse weather conditions such as rain and wind. Contaminants and coolants such
as mud, water, and oil must not come in contact with the weld.

2.2.2 Drilling fluids such as mud, water, and any other liquids should be bailed out of the
casing and should be kept well below (at least 2 feet or 600mm) the weld. This
operation should be performed prior to welding and the liquid level should be
maintained low until welding is completed and weld has properly cooled.

2.2.3 In order to avoid weld contamination, the immediate area of the casing and casing
head where the weld is to be made is to be cleaned to bright metal; it must be dry and
free from any paint, grease, scale, rust or dirt.

3 PREPARATION AND SET-UP

3.1 Cut surface casing square and do not bevel.

Break corners with 0.03" x 45° (0.5mm x 45°)
chamfer, grind the outside of the casing to bright
metal to insure good tie-in. (See Figure 2)

3.2 Visually inspect the casing head and remove

1/2" LP from test port.

3.3 Install the casing head over casing per

customer's instruction.

3.4 Level the casing head and tack weld to casing

on the outside. Prior to tack welding, preheat
head and casing to at least 105°F (40°C). All
cold tack welds should be removed by grinding
and should not be incorporated into the final
weld.

Figure 2

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POOC WELDING GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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4 FILLER METAL SELECTION AND WELDING ROD CARE

4.1 Casing Head Material API Casing Grade Welding Rod

AISI 4130 / 4140 H40, J55, K55, C75 E7018 or E8018-B2L

L80, N80 E8018-B2L or E10018-D2

S90, S95 E10018-D2

P110 E10018-D2

4.2 E6010, E6011, E7010, or E7070-A1 may be used for the root pass for all casing grades
if poor fit up or gaps are present.

4.3 Low hydrogen type welding rods should be employed for all welding. New welding rods
should be stored in their sealed cans until needed. Rods removed from sealed can are
to be placed in dry rod heaters.

4.4 Moisture in the rod flux coating can cause hydrogen embrittlement of the weld with
resultant cracking and porosity.

4.5 Within 2 hours at 80% relative humidity or 30 minutes at 100% relative humidity, rods
may contain up to 13 times the allowable moisture content to meet applicable welding
codes and recommendations.

4.6 Electrodes exposed to atmosphere must be dried in an oven for a minimum of 2 hours
at 400-750°F (200-400°C) immediately prior to use

5 PREHEAT

5.1 All preheating should be performed using a suitable heating method. Localized heat or
heat impingement should be avoided. Preheating should be applied gradually (e.g.
broad flame) allowing the thermal mass of the casing and casing heat to soak in the
heat from the heat source. For uniform heating, thicker sections of the casing head may
require more careful preheating. Preheating should be carried out with electric
resistance heaters, thermite devices (HOT-HED), propane, or oxy/acetylene heating
torches. Oxy/acetylene cutting torches are NOT acceptable for preheating.

5.2 Periodically monitor the surface temperature, preheat and inter-pass, near the weld
using temperature indications crayons, thermocouples, or optical pyrometer.

5.3 Preheat the casing head and casing to a temperature of 250-400°F (120-205°C) for a
minimum of 4" (100mm) above and below weld area.

5.4 The preheat temperature should be maintained during the course of all welding.

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POOC WELDING GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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5.5 The inter-pass temperature should not exceed 800°F.

6 WELDING TECHNIQUE AND SEQUENCE

6.1 See Section: Filler Metal Selection and Welding Rod Care.

6.2 Weld the outside (lower) fillet weld first.

6.3 The first (root) pass should be welded with a skip welding sequence (similar to making
up a flanged joint), each weld being about 4-6" (100-150mm) long. Suggested a welding
sequence outlined below:

i.) 1st weld at 0°

ii.) 2nd weld at 180°
iii.) weld at 90°
iv.) weld at 270°
v.) weld at 45°
vi.) weld at 225°
vii.) weld at 135°
viii.) weld at 315°
ix.) and so on until the root pass is complete

6.4 Two welders may be utilized, but they should weld opposite each other in the above
sequence.

Remove any cold tack by grinding.

6.5 All beads should be stringer beads with good penetration. All completed beads should
exhibit good workmanship by appearance. All beads shall be closely inspected after
their deposition. All visible flaws, slag, porosity, cracks, should be removed by grinding
prior to deposition of the subsequent bead.

6.6 Use a wire brush to carefully clean all the starts and stops during welding. Thoroughly
wire brush the root pass upon its completion. Each bead after the root pass should be
well peened before applying next bead.

6.7 Complete the outside fillet weld in the same manner as in the above paragraphs 3 and 4
with each weld at least one electrode in length. Sufficient passes should be made to
insure that the throat or thickness of the fillet weld be at least equal to the thickness of
the casing wall. (See Figure 3) A full fillet is desired. Generally, from 3 to 5 passes will
be required.

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6.8 Power brush or grind inside casing head weld area

clean to bright metal. Start welding the inside
casing to the casing head in the sequence
described in the above Paragraph 3; a skip around
technique will reduce weld shrinkage and warpage
stresses.

6.9 Complete the inside fillet weld in the same manner

as in the above Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 with each
weld at least one electrode in length. Sufficient
passes should be made to fill the weld joint flush
with the inside of the casing. Do not leave excess
weld reinforcement that could bind the drill string.
Generally, from 3 to 5 passes will be required.

6.10 Wire brush all weld surfaces clean. While the

casing / casing head assembly is still hot from
welding, insulate it with an industrial blanket in
order to protect it from adverse weather conditions
and let it cool slowly before Hydrostatic Testing.

Figure 3

7 HYDROSTATIC TEST PROCEDURE

7.1 Allow the casing to cool down to 100°F (40°C) in still air and before pressure testing the
weld joints. Rapid cooling in the wind must be avoided! Verify the temperature.

7.2 Hook up the pressure testing pump and gauge assembly and test with water only. Do
not use oil for testing. Repairing defects by welding over oil can cause serious weld
defects such as cracking.

7.3 Test the casing head to a maximum of 80% of the casing collapse pressure or per
company representative's requirements. The pressure should be applied slowly until the
required test pressure is reached.

7.4 Hold the required test pressure for a minimum of 15 minutes or as required by the
company representative.

7.5 Slowly reduce pressure, remove test apparatus and let water drain before installing test
port plug.

7.6 If a leak is detected, remove defective weld to sound material and reweld and retest as
described above.
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POOC WELDING GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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THIS GUIDELINE IS SUBJECT TO POOC DRILLING SUPERVISORS DISCRETION

8 STRESS RELIEVING AND POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT

8.1 Post Weld Heat Treatment (stress relieving) is recommended for all welding in order to
reduce weld shrinkage stresses, high hardness in the HAZ, and cracking in the weld
fusion line.

8.2 Remove lockdown screws and annulus valves prior to stress relieve.

8.3 Stress relieving must be performed by a recognized heat treatment contractor using
electric resistance heaters and / or appropriate means.

8.4 Post weld heat treatment shall be 1175°F ± 50°F (635°C ± 30°C) with a minimum
holding timer of 1 hour.

8.5 Heat casing / casing head assembly to 800°F (425°C) at an unrestricted rate following
the guidelines in Section 5.0 (Preheat).

8.6 Heat casing / casing head assembly from 800°F (425°C) to 1175°F (635°C) at 200°F/hr
maximum.

9.7 Soak casing / casing head assembly at 1175°F (635°C).

9.8 Cool casing / casing head assembly to 800° F (425° C) at 250° F/hr maximum.

9.9 Cool casing / casing head assembly from 800° F (425° C) at 250° F/hr at an unrestricted
rate.

9.10 Slip off insulation and electric heating coils.

9.11 Contractor shall use proper heat indicators and recorders.

9.12 After heat treatment, MPI is recommended.

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