Introduction.

In the early development of the Åsgard and the Gullfaks Satellites Fields it was calculated a need of 15 to 25 thousand tons of CRA for flowline applications. Additionally most of these pipes had to be delivered within a period of 18 months. A marked review for duplex pipes, showed a free capacity in the different steel mills of 100 to 1500 MT per month, depending of pipe diameter and supplier. Based on this realities, Statoil took an initiative for qualification of super martensitic steels for flowline purpose. To Statoil, it become early clear that a success would depend on a close co-operation with the steel mills. Contact was therefore made to Statoils main steel suppliers with the purpose to establish a research project aiming qualification of Chromium steels for flowline application. In general that initiative got a positive answer both from the Japanese and European mills. However, when it came to supply of test materials, the European steel mills become more reluctant. The project was therefore established, using steels from one European and four Japanese mills.