SPE 107240

4th-Generation Coiled-Tubing Manufacturing Technology

Jon D. DuBois and Martin P. Atwood, Global Tubing LLC

Copyright 2007, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2007 SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing and Well
Intervention Conference and Exhibition held in The Woodlands, Texas, U.S.A., 2021 March 2007.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of
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Abstract
Innovative new technologies in coiled tubing (CT)
manufacturing will present new opportunities in the industry.
The new technology represents a 4th generation CT
manufacturing process known as the Continuous Variable
Reduction (CVR) process. A brief overview of current
manufacturing technology will be presented followed by key
elements of the new CVR 4th generation manufacturing
technology. Then, the advantages of the CVR technology will
be presented along with examples of new products to come
from CVR.
Continuous Variable Reduction (CVR) technology has
application in the manufacture of variable outside diameter,
variable wall thickness, and variable strength all within the
same CT string. There is also application in the
manufacturing of small diameter, heavy-wall, high-pressure
strings. The CVR process will produce CT without internal
weld beads.
The significance of the ability to manufacture coiled tubing
with variable OD, variable wall thickness, and varying
strength levels without the typical ring or butt welds now
required to join multiple diameters represents a significant
advance in coiled tubing manufacturing technology.
Introduction
Current manufacturing practices and existing technologies for
the production of coiled tubing date back nearly three decades.
While providing quality products to an industry that has
experienced phenomenal growth over that same period,
current practices have limitations in production speeds and
product design flexibility. A new patent pending technology
and manufacturing process called Continuous Variable
Reduction (CVR) now offers a means to produce CT with a
much higher throughput while simultaneously making
possible multiple variations in outside diameter, wall
thickness, and strength levels, all without internal weld beads,
to meet customer specifications in well intervention

applications that require tapered strings (both in outside

diameter and wall thickness).
Current coiled tubing manufacturing practices presently join
two or more steel strips end-to-end that were previously slit
from large master coils. The combined longer strip that meets
the total length requirement for the order is then fed through a
tube forming mill, longitudinally welded through forge
welding (usually called HFIW or high-frequency induction
welding), heat treated through induction coils to remove
forming stresses and set physical strength properties, and, after
cooling, wound onto large metal or wooden spools.
In current manufacturing practices, customer orders which
call for tapered wall thicknesses are handled in two different
ways. One method requires that master coils be purchased
from the steel mill having a gradually tapered thickness from
one end to the other. Since several strips must be joined endto-end typically for a single customer length requirement, this
process requires ordering many various tapered master coils
with varying thicknesses. A second method of producing
tapered wall thicknesses again requires that many different
master coils be purchased with only slightly different gauges
so that strips can be joined from these close gauges. Tapered
outside diameters are not possible with the current
manufacturing process and technology without joining two
different diameter tubing strings with a perpendicular ring or
butt weld.
Continuous Variable Reduction Process
The CVR process was so named because this new process is a
continuous, non-stop operation, barring any mechanical or
electrical faults. It can produce a continuous, near-infinite
length of coiled tubing from one continuous size tube that
becomes the feed or entry tube for other smaller diameter
finished tubes. Variable means the ability to change many of
the variables that exist in a coiled tubing string such as outside
diameter, wall thickness, inside diameter, and material
strength. All of these variables can be varied within the same
length of tubing. The process usually reduces the above
variables from the original dimensions of the entry tube.
The CVR process begins in much the same way as the
current manufacturing process where multiple steel strips are
joined end-to-end to create a longer continuous strip. After
joining the strips and inspecting the joint quality, the joined
strips are then fed into a machine called an accumulator. The
accumulator stores a large length of joined strips to allow the
tube forming mill to continuously pull from. During
drawdown in the accumulator, the strip splicing operation is
done. At the completion of the strip splicing operation,

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SPE 107240

additional strip is rapidly added to the accumulator for

replenishment, thus producing a continuous operation.
The tube forming mill in the CVR process will only make a
3 outside diameter entry tube in no more than 2 or 3 different
gauges or wall thicknesses. All finished sizes from the CVR
mill will come from this 3 OD entry tube. After entry tube
inspection, the tube goes through a series of induction heating
coils to reheat this 3 entry tube to various temperatures above
1650 degrees Fahrenheit. The 3 OD entry tube then enters
the process controlled CVR mill which consists of a series of
specially designed reducing stands to gradually reduce the
outside diameter and/or wall thickness to the desired customer
specifications.
Each reducing stand is capable of reducing the entry tube
diameter by 5-9% through pre-programming. The roll speed,
also controlled by pre-programming, determines the extent of
wall thickness reduction on each stand. When a downstream
roll speed is minutely faster than the roll speed of the
immediate upstream stand, a slight pulling action is generated
on the tube, creating a small wall thinning. Although not the
typical process, the opposite is also true where a slower roll
speed downstream than the roll speed immediately upstream
creates a slight packing action and thickens the wall. Through
precise computer control of roll speed and the roll design on
each stand, the original 3 OD entry tube will be slowly
reduced to the desired customer specifications.
Each reducing stand is also capable of being opened
completely. This allows immediate OD size changes for
customer orders. A typical scenario for uniform wall diameter
requirement might be where 1-1/4 OD tubing is being
produced. The following order calls for 1-3/4 OD tubing. A
few stands near the end of the CVR mill are fully opened to
quickly scale up the tube diameter with only a small section of
scrap between the two orders. The ability to completely open
the reducing stands, as the CVR mill continues to run, also
allows for a customized order calling for a tapered diameter in
a single length of tube.
Because the 3 OD entry tube is typically reduced in either
or both OD and wall thickness, and because the total mass
exiting the CVR mill is still the same mass that entered the
CVR mill, it is easy to see that a smaller diameter tube and/or
a tube with less wall thickness will exit the CVR mill at a
much greater speed than the entry tube speed. Calculations
show that a typical constant entry tube speed for the 3 OD
entry tube of between 50-80 feet per minute will yield exit
speeds for a 1-1/2 OD finished tube of between 150-200 feet
per minute. The result is a substantial throughput increase. In
fact, for all finished products, the average throughput is
increased by over 115%.
Finally, by adjusting the input temperature of the 3 OD
entry tube to the CVR mill, the rate of cooling through the
mill, and the rate of cooling at the exit of the mill, an
individual length of tubing can have more than one yield
strength from the beginning to the end.

requirements for multiple OD, multiple wall thicknesses,

and/or multiple yield strengths. So, in effect, the coiled tubing
design is customized to the individual needs.
A second key advantage is the ability to have almost
immediate order processing. Because the process runs nonstop and requires no changeovers for outside diameter or wall
thickness, when one order is complete, the next order can be
immediately run by only opening or closing CVR mill stands
as needed.
Another key advantage to CVR is the quality of the finished
product. Due to the elimination of changeovers for outside
diameter, setup quality issues disappear. Additionally, due to
the forging action as the steel is mechanically worked through
the CVR reducing stands, the longitudinal and strip welds
virtually disappear.
Finally, because the 3 OD entry tube has the inside weld
bead removed immediately following the longitudinal welding
operation, all products produced from the original 3 entry
tube by the CVR mill will have a flash-free inside. Having a
smooth interior permits a more dependable and accurate use of
sophisticated nondestructive inspection techniques
immediately after the longitudinal seam is welded.
Product Groups
From the CVR process, five different product groups emerge.
The first and simplest group is simply a tube with uniform
wall thickness and a single OD throughout the full length.
Product Group 1: Uniform Wall Thickness,
Single OD
Uniform Wall

Single OD

A second product group keeps the single OD throughout the

full length of tube but gradually tapers the wall thickness from
one end to the other.
Product Group 2: Tapered Wall Thickness,
Single OD
Heavy
End

Tapered Wall

Light
End

Single OD

The third product group keeps a uniform wall thickness

throughout the full length of tubing but tapers the outside
diameter at customer defined points along the length.

Advantages of CVR
The primary advantage of CVR from the end user perspective
is the capability to utilize a multitude of new products.
Because CVR is process controlled, users may define their
coiled tubing specifications to meet individual well

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Product Group 3: Uniform Wall Thickness,

Multiple ODs
Uniform Wall

OD Tapered over Defined Coil Ranges

SPE 107240

Product group 4 tapers both the wall thickness and the outside
diameter at customer defined points along the length of tubing.
Product Group 4: Tapered Wall Thickness,
Multiple ODs
Heavy
End

Tapered Wall

Light
End

OD Tapered over Defined Coil Range

The last group uses any of the previous four product groups
and combines those features with the ability to change the
yield strength within the full length of tubing.
Product Group 5: Multiple Yield Strengths,
Mixed ODs and Wall Thicknesses as Required

Higher Yield Strength

Lower Yield Strength

Summary
To keep pace with accelerating demand for cost effective
intervention throughout the world, along with the continuing
development of new CT applications, the time has come for
greater flexibility in the design of the CT itself to
accommodate each individualized application as well as more
advanced applications. The advantages in the CVR process to
rapidly adjust to these needs and to create a faster response
time for unique tubing designs makes CVR an effective
answer for current and future well intervention needs.

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