Raymond Saudi Arabia has integrated its Mechanised Welding Division from Bahrain, which serves the entire Middle East, into its operations in Saudi Arabia, according to the company.

Following its success in Orbital welding of power plant boiler tubes with Saudi Consolidated Electric Company (Sceco), Raymond Saudi Arabia Welding Division has introduced its Ray-Weld mechanised pipeline welding system with Saudi Aramco contractors on Tie-In flow-lines in the field.

In order to improve the service life of seawater injection pipelines, trials were performed to obtain the optimum welding characteristics and smooth weld profile on the internal surface of the root bead compared with the irregular profile found with manual welding. Raymond Saudi Arabia Welding Division performed a number of mechanised weld procedure trials on behalf of Aramco CSD.

On completion of these trials these welds were found to be NACE compliant and 100 per cent defect-free and are currently undergoing corrosion testing by Aramco after the application of FBE to the welded root area of the internal bore of the pipe.

Apart from the improved metallurgical benefits, the Ray-Weld system allows contractors to reduce their project manpower and equipment levels, increase productivity, and work to a zero defect target, assuring higher integrity of the completed weld joints.

Raymond Saudi Arabia Welding Division is working in close cooperation with the Saudi Arabian representative of the Lincoln Electric Company, and Magnatech USA, in positioning itself to further utilise the latest welding technology and strengthen its position serving contractors on pipeline projects throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.