Bulletin No: 1-4

ENGINEERING
Page: 1 of 7
BULLETIN Revision No: 5

TITLE: Welding Guidelines and Recommendations for Slip-on Connections

1.0 General

1.1 This Engineering Bulletin is intended to provide guidance in the development of

proper Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS). This Engineering Bulletin alone
should NOT be considered to be a WPS. The end user should employ a qualified
welder and us an approved WPS 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 WPS 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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ENGINEERING
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BULLETIN Revision No: 5

TITLE: Welding Guidelines and Recommendations for Slip-on Connections

2.0 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, snow, 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.

3.0 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
 Bulletin No: 1-4
ENGINEERING
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BULLETIN Revision No: 5

TITLE: Welding Guidelines and Recommendations for Slip-on Connections

4.0 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

5.0 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.
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ENGINEERING
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BULLETIN Revision No: 5

TITLE: Welding Guidelines and Recommendations for Slip-on Connections

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

5.5 The inter-pass temperature should not exceed 800°F.

6.0 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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ENGINEERING
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BULLETIN Revision No: 5

TITLE: Welding Guidelines and Recommendations for Slip-on Connections

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

7.0 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.
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BULLETIN Revision No: 5

TITLE: Welding Guidelines and Recommendations for Slip-on Connections

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.

8.0 Non-destructive Examination

8.1 Hardness and non-destructive examination (NDE), such as Magnetic Particle

Inspection (MPI) or Radiographic Testing (RT), requirements should be determined
by the customer based on the components being joined, well conditions such as
sour service, and/or when casing grade is C75 or higher (per API) regardless of
service environment.

8.2 Hardness Testing of the Heat Affected Zones (HAZ) and weld metal, and Magnetic Particle
Inspection (MPI) of field welds per API 6A, PSL2 shall be a mandatory requirement if
PWHT is not performed. The hardness obtained must not exceed 22 Rockwell C (22 RC),
and linear indications of any length are not acceptable.

8.2 Radiographic Test (RT) or ultrasonic examination (UT) of the weld and Heat Affected
Zones (HAZ) is recommended per customer’s acceptance criteria.

9.0 Stress Relieving and Post Weld Heat Treatment

9.1 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.

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

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

9.4 Post weld heat treatment shall be 1225°F ± 25°F (663°C ± 14°C) with a minimum
holding time of 1.5 hours at temperature.

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

9.6 Heat casing / casing head assembly from 800°F (425°C) to 1225°F (663°C) at
200°F/hr maximum.

9.7 Soak casing / casing head assembly at 1225°F (663°C) for a minimum of 1.5 hours
at temperature.