Great Power Industry: You're a private company building an aircraft carrier?

Korla, the terminus of the Lunku Railway.

When oil is transported here, it needs to be loaded onto tanker trucks, so pipelines leading to the train station were laid, along with various tanker trucks and other equipment. The site is quite large, and there are many warehouses.

At this moment, in one of the warehouses, a pipe more than 20 meters long lay flat, and a group of people were gathered around it, discussing it animatedly.

"This is the first time we've built such a state-of-the-art oil pipeline in China, and we must ensure its quality. Only the X65 pipeline can meet our needs!"

"Yes, this is the highest level of pipe specified in ISO 3183! We can't produce this kind of pipe ourselves; we owe it to Nippon Steel Corporation of Japan for providing us with advanced pipes!"

X65 is just an abbreviation; the full name is API 5L (ISO 3183) X65 pipeline. This is the highest level of pipeline used for oil and gas transportation. The 65 refers to the yield strength requirement of 65,000 Ksi, which is equivalent to 450 MPa.

This grade of steel is quite scarce in China, not to mention the need to coil it into 64-inch steel pipes!

64 inches is 1626 millimeters. Multiplying that by pi gives a circumference of 5.11 meters.

To wind up this type of pipe, the steel plate needs to be at least 5.2 meters wide!

Could people from the East produce this kind of pipe?

Hearing the discussion, Shinzo Koizumi, the representative of Nippon Steel, spoke up: "Everyone, bidding is simply a waste of time. The climate here is too harsh. The sooner we sign the contract, the sooner we can go back."

Upon hearing that a high-pressure oil pipeline was to be built here, they immediately brought their products over. Coming from a warm island nation to this dusty and rocky Gobi Desert was truly unpleasant.

What are some products to bid on? Just choose products from our island nation, absolutely no problem!

“Yes, I don’t think there’s a problem,” said Pan Qiang, an engineer from the Third Pipeline Company in charge of the construction.

“That’s right, we’ve used Nippon Steel pipes before. They’re of very high quality, and after more than ten years, there’s only a layer of surface rust.” Another engineer, Liu Xiangjun, chimed in, “Now that it’s finalized and we’ve paid the deposit, they can be delivered next year, and we can start construction!”

“We believe that to fully realize the designed transport capacity, this oil pipeline must use high-quality steel produced in the island nation.” The survey and design were not only handled by the Eastern Pipeline Survey and Design Institute, but also by the Italian company Snampton, and at this point, the blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner also spoke up.

This was exactly what everyone had hoped for! Shinzo Koizumi was extremely pleased.

“Our pipelines are not only of advanced quality, but they are also longer. Previous pipelines were 15 meters long, at most 20 meters long. This time, the pipeline we brought is a full 27 meters long, which means that the number of welding points required for the oil pipeline has been reduced by nearly half!”

Shinzo Koizumi continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, the pipes produced by Nippon Steel are the best in the world. You should place your orders directly!"

All eyes turned to the top leader present who had the final say: Zhou Yongkang, manager of Tarim Petroleum Exploration and Development Corporation.

As long as he nods, the matter is settled. He's had enough of enduring the cold winds of the Gobi Desert for several months this year, and now he can go home!

Zhou Yongkang shook his head: "No, we still need to wait for a product from a domestic company."

domestic?

Shinzo Koizumi sneered, "Manager Zhou, this kind of oil pipeline requires 5.2-meter steel plates to be rolled out. Your country cannot produce such steel plates. Are you planning to splice two steel plates together? That certainly won't meet the performance requirements!"

Regardless of thickness, straight seam steel pipes are all manufactured in the same way: first, steel plates are rolled, then wound into pipes, and then the seams are pressed or welded.

If the steel plate is not wide enough, then two steel plates can only be joined together, resulting in two weld seams on a single steel pipe, which greatly reduces its strength!

“In the past, we were indeed unable to produce such ultra-wide steel plates in China, but now we can.”

"Yes?"

Even if it's broadcast on the evening news, not everyone will know about it.

Many people believe that Eastern technology is backward and that it is impossible for the East to have any advanced technology, so they don't pay attention to it.

"last month……"

“Last month? The commissioning and operation of the rolling mill production line takes a long time!” Shinzo Koizumi began, “Moreover, it’s not enough to just produce steel plates; we also need specialized X65 steel plates with a yield strength of 450 MPa. You Eastern…”

Shinzo Koizumi paused for a moment. He wasn't afraid of offending these people; he was simply stating a fact: "Even in a hundred years, we couldn't produce that. So, let's use ours!"

"Who said we in the East can't produce it in a hundred years? Want to make a bet?"

Just then, a voice rang out from outside.

Zhou Yongkang was immediately excited. He was here! Engineer Qin had finally arrived!

Two young men appeared at the door.

With a creaking sound, the warehouse door opened, and then a heavy truck appeared before everyone's eyes. Through the front of the truck, three steel pipes could be seen stacked on the back. Judging from their size, they should be 64-inch pipes.

Shinzo Koizumi frowned. "The Easterners have actually managed to come up with something like this?"

Even if you manage to put it together, the quality might not be up to standard, and even if it is up to standard, it might not have the advantages of your own side!

In short, Nippon Steel is absolutely number one in high-pressure oil pipelines!

"Qin Engineer, you've finally arrived!" Zhou Yongkang excitedly walked over to greet Qin Chuan.

Although it was the first time the two had met, Qin Chuan's name was already well-known throughout the domestic metallurgical industry. Zhou Yongkang had seen Qin Chuan's photo and recognized him at a glance.

"Yes, it's an extra-long cargo, so it's inconvenient to transport by rail. Otherwise, it could have arrived a day or two earlier."

Extra long?

Shinzo Koizumi's eyes darted around: "Twenty meters? With the level of your Easterners, it's already quite difficult to make a pipe twenty meters long."

The freight boxes on railway trains come in different lengths, the longest being no more than fifteen meters. Since they cannot be transported by rail, perhaps they are twenty meters long?

"If you have eyes, see for yourself."

The Steyr tractor continued to move forward, and pipes kept coming in from the doorway.

Ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters... there are more outside!

Finally, when the front of the truck reached the deepest part of the warehouse, the rear of the truck finally came in.

This warehouse is fifty meters long. Taking away the space for the front of the vehicle, this pipe... could it be forty meters long?

“The longer the length, the fewer welds are needed.” Qin Chuan glanced at the pipe on the ground; it must have been bid on by the island nation. His eyes revealed a disdainful expression: “A pipe of twenty or thirty meters is already outdated. It needs to be at least forty meters long to be of any engineering significance!”

Shinzo Koizumi's face turned ugly. Just now, he had been praising his 27-meter-long pipe to the skies, talking for a long time about the benefits of a long pipe. The Italian had also been helping to smooth things over. Now, it had turned into an advertisement for an Eastern product.