To maintain production levels, oil fields in the Middle East increasingly require water injection to maintain pressure in hydrocarbon reservoirs. The injected water increases the water cut of the produced fluids, resulting in a very corrosive mixture for metallic piping. Therefore, nonmetallic pipe systems have become more widely accepted as alternative pipe materials for transporting produced fluids and injection water.

Over the past six decades, the operating envelope for non-metallic pipe systems has successively expanded in terms of diameter, pressure, and temperature. A primary example is reinforced thermoset resin (RTR) pipe systems. In the 1980s and 1990s, they were limited to medium pressures and temperatures, up to 750 psi and 200°F. Over the last 2 decades, new technologies have enabled the application pressure for RTR pipe systems to gradually increase to 1,750 psi and for design temperatures up to 212°F. More recently, further developments now enable RTR pipe systems to be designed up to 3,000 psi in diameters up to 12 in. and up to 1,500 psi in diameters up to 24 in.

This paper describes the historical developments that have allowed the application envelope of RTR to reach its current state and where it will expand in the next 3 to 5 years. An overview of the qualification test program supporting this expansion and new application areas for this technology are highlighted.