(WO) — The American Petroleum Institute (API) has published the 17th edition of API Specification 5B, updating requirements for manufacturing, measuring and inspecting threaded connections used in oil and gas casing, tubing and line pipe.
The latest edition of Threading, Gauging, and Inspection of Casing, Tubing, and Line Pipe Threads adds requirements for validating optical, laser and other contactless technologies used to measure thread features. The provisions are intended to improve measurement accuracy and repeatability as newer inspection technologies are adopted.
API Spec 5B establishes dimensional and acceptance requirements for threaded connections used in Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) and line pipe. Maintaining thread integrity is critical to ensuring connections perform reliably under the loads and operating conditions encountered in wells and piping systems.
“Reliable threaded connections depend on precision at the point of manufacture and confidence in how they are measured afterward,” said Anchal Liddar, API senior vice president of Global Industry Services. “The 17th edition of API Spec 5B updates the standard for newer measurement technologies and increasingly demanding operating conditions.”
Under the revised specification, traditional mechanical gauging remains the governing method for acceptance or rejection when results obtained using alternative measurement technologies are disputed.
The update also revises dimensions and tolerances for buttress tooth thickness gauges and their setting standards, expands guidance for determining thread ovality and related standoff requirements, and clarifies calibration and recordkeeping requirements.
API also removed outdated quality requirements and obsolete line pipe ring and plug gauge provisions to align Spec 5B with other current API standards for OCTG. Updated illustrations include three-dimensional representations of current gauges and thread features.
First published in 1939, API Spec 5B provides manufacturers, inspectors and purchasers with common requirements for verifying threaded connection dimensions and acceptance criteria. The specification is now the primary API Monogram specification for casing, tubing and line pipe threading activities, with more than 550 API Monogram licensees.
API released the sixth edition of Recommended Practice 5B1 alongside the updated specification. API RP 5B1 provides technical guidance and inspection practices supporting application of the Spec 5B requirements.
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