The investment will be used to build a facility in the Netherlands for testing a new generation of very strong, lightweight corrosion free tubulars built for HPHT wells, and enable trial project certification

CRA-Tubulars has announced several development milestones including successfully securing €800,000 ($949,000) of funding with prototype testing beating expectations.

The funds will be used to build a one-of-a-kind testing facility in the Netherlands to allow specific testing of carbon fibre spoolable tubing (CFST), a new generation of very strong, lightweight corrosion free tubulars built for high-temperature, high-pressure (HPHT) wells, and enable trial project certification.

Recently, Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) established a joint industry project to write a standard for non-metallic downhole tubulars. CRA-Tubulars CFST is being considered for hostile applications like saltwater disposal (SWD), corrosive producers (H2S), and carbon capture and storage (CCS) wells.

Commenting on the milestones, Emile Burnaby Lautier, CRA-Tubulars -Founder and CEO, says: "We have had meetings with OCTG experts from around the world; the common theme is we must come up with a non-metallic tubular that can perform like steel but is inert to corrosion. The largest E&P companies are dedicating teams and resources to find non-metallic alternatives. They have been successful in line-pipe, jumpers, and risers however till now there has been no tubular robust enough to go downhole, at any reasonable depth or temperature, until CFST."

Roderick Van Seventer, CRA-Tubulars CFO, says: "It is all about cash flow and maximising investment. If a well is down due to corrosion/integrity issues, this has a financial impact to a company on many fronts; repair costs, delay to the revenue stream, and HSE risks. The longer an asset can produce without intervention the better to your bottom line. A wiser capital investment up will reward a company with steady profits and safeguarding personnel."

The features and benefits of CRA-Tubulars’ CFST include:

• A range of sizes (currently available): 2-3/8, 2-7/8, 3-½, and 4 ½ inches.

• Single piece construction minimising leak paths (top and bottom conventional connections).

• Spoolable deployment with hydraulic workover unit, no rig required. Rig deployment is possible, however.

• Temperature ratings to 350 deg F.

• Burst ratings to 18,000 PSI.

• Axiale tensile rating to 250,000 lbs pull.

• Designed for over 20-year field performance.

• Titanium lined for ultimate corrosion resistance and permeation resistance.

• CFST conforms to API 5 CT.

CFST is currently seeking trial partners for first field installations, at comparable pricing to Chrome 13 tubing, but surpassing its corrosive properties. CRA-Tubulars is also in discussion with investors interested in manufacturing facilities.

CRA-Tubulars is a newly established company backed by many years of excellence and innovation. The company operates in the oil and gas space and seeks to help energy companies to solve the issue of well-integrity, associated cost and subsequent loss of production due to corrosion failures. The company is in the final stage of producing a CFST that aims to disrupt the deployment of metallic tubulars in upstream oil and gas.

The CRA-Tubulars team has more than 80 man-years experience in the E&P industry.