Activities of the API Committee on Standardization of Tubular Goods
Authors: Bartlett L.E. , Kohut G.B. , Dabkowski D.S. , McGill R. 
Published: October 2008

This paper outlines the organization of the Committee on Oil Field Tubular Goods and presents the methods used in the standardization process. There are several examples of recent changes in the specification as well as the present activities in both research and regular committee business.

Purpose

Committee 5, the Pipe Committee, was one of the earliest efforts in the standardization of oilfield products. When the oil boom began in the early 1900's, there was a tremendous need for pipe in the oilfield. As a result a great many suppliers rushed into the business, each with a size and thread form that fit their manufacturing process. The users found that their inventory from one well to the next was usually worthless and one set of tubes might be different than others from the same manufacturer.

These difficulties led to the formation of Committee 5 and the first Specification 5 was issued by the Committee in 1924. Since that time numerous changes have been made to the products and to the specifications, but the main purpose of the Committee has remained unchanged, that is, to develop specifications for materials and recommended practices involving oilfield tubular goods so that a purchaser can be assured of getting a standardized interchangeable quality product.

Organization

The organization of both the API and Committee 5 has evolved through the years but there are several key elements that have remained intact. One important aspect is that the entire standardization organization reports to the General Committee of the Production Department (See Figure 1). In this manner the standardization process communicates directly with the leaders of the industry and this insures a clear understanding of the needs of the operating companies both from their company management as well as from the committee representation.

Committee 5 is organized in a manner that attempts to focus the technical expertise of specific areas while still maintaining independent input from users and manufacturers. The committee membership is comprised of representatives from both manufacturers and users. Any item that results in a change to the specification must be letter balloted and accepted by this balanced committee. Recently a procedure and meeting schedule was established that allows for letter balloting on a semi-annual basis and the documents are updated annually.

However, before the balloting process occurs, the Committee receives advice from several sources concerning the issue. Perhaps the clearest explanation is to illustrate how a change in the Pipe Specifications occurs.

Procedure for Specification Change

Requests for changes can initiate from several different sources. By far the most requests are generated from active participants in the standardization process who have experienced some difficulty with understanding the Standard or have identified a need for revision based on current of future needs. However, anyone who has a request or a problem with the specifications is urged to submit the inqUiry in writing to the API office. From either of these scenarios the request is reviewed by the committee officers and is answered by referring to existing Committee 5 documents or else it is referred to a Task Group for review.