John Lawrie Tubulars

Decommissioning is the often-forgotten element of the oil and gas sector that has come to prominence especially in the last decade.

Sustainability is becoming a priority alongside the traditional goals of profit and performance in the Energy Industry. Where decommissioning activities are being conducted by Operators or contractors, there is an increased focus on processes that need to include environmental aspects as well as revenue opportunities.

For Montrose-based John Lawrie Tubulars (JLT), this is second nature. The company was built on pioneering the reuse of oil and gas tubulars used to extract product from oil and gas fields, for use in construction or other industries. For decades, the company has purchased tubulars as oil and gas projects have come to an end, before using them in foundation piling and other applications across global markets.

The steel tubulars are perfect for repurposing, but they require expert knowledge to ensure they are fit for repurposing.

“I started with the John Lawrie Group aged 18 as a labourer in the pipe yard,” smiles MD Iain Laing. “I then went offshore and ran completion projects before coming back onshore and taking on the running of the pipe yard in Montrose. Almost 30 years later and I have climbed the ladder.”

“We partner with the Energy Industry to enable them to fulfil their environmental aspirations through the safe disposal of steel tubulars. We are a one stop shop for operators and contractors whether it be logistics, full material traceability or environmental reporting.”

CIRCULAR BY NATURE

Oil and gas wells have to withstand significant force and are therefore require high grade steel. The steel must withstand high pressures internally and externally, and must meet strict international standards. For use in piling and construction activities, this is a perfect material. Recycled, robust, cheaper than new, and emissions saving, when you buy from John Lawrie Tubulars, you will get a product that is managed and delivered by JLT.

“We buy steel tubulars from all over the world,” says Laing. “These may be used (pulled from production or decommissioning activities) or surplus to operations that has no use in the energy industry anymore. We can find a use for it and repurpose it for the construction market where it more than meets all requirements for the industry.

“We focus on top driven piling and, since 2020, we have invested significantly in a purpose-built machine shop. We have CNCs, saws, friction welders, heat treatment and cleaning machines. The business now manufactures a range of equipment in-house to support various aspects of the construction, ground investigation and geotechnical foundation/engineering sectors – this includes friction welded drill rods,” he adds.

For the top driven piling market, JLT keeps stock from 73mm up to 914mm diameter with a range of wall thickness and lengths. Importantly, all manufacturing is done inhouse and this allows for complete control over quality, something which Laing is keen to promote.

“Everything is done inhouse,” he says, highlighting that the company was awarded ‘Made in Britain’ accreditation this year and has been shortlisted by Made in Britain for the Green Growth Manufacturer of the year award.

“We have conducted a Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) of our business – which calculates JLT’s CO₂ emissions from cradle to grave. Therefore JLT can demonstrate to our suppliers and customers the CO₂ savings by using JLT steel versus buying new steel.

Highlighting the company’s ability, in 2022 John Lawrie Tubulars was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development. One of just 226 organisations to be recognised, the company was lauded for its focus on saving carbon dioxide equivalent. Thanks to the LCA, JLT can detail CO₂ savings for every tonne of repurposed steel tubulars. “This analysis has been of huge benefit for our customers and suppliers to monitor their CO2 savings” adds Laing.

“We have been strategically focused on evolving our business offering to meet the demands of not only the industry we serve, but the global environment within which we work.

“All of this is because of the team’s hard work. We are a team oriented business and everyone works together. People multitask and help each other – we’re lucky to have a great team.”

GROWING PRESENCE

Today, JLT has a base in Montrose, UK, Houston, USA, Scunthorpe, UK, and a recently opened new yard on the border between the Netherlands and Germany.

Laing is keen on expansion in new markets and sees European growth in exciting new sectors.

“All of our material goes to the construction industry, rail industry and land drilling but also in renewables with the supply of material for geothermal work,” he says. “We are looking at the geothermal market as an opportunity – we believe that will grow in the UK and Europe. Our sales team are focussed on learning more about that market and growing our presence.  They can buy repurposed, surplus pipe from us and that gives it a new use, ticking all the boxes for the client. We have over 20,000 tonnes of stock ready to ship to customers.”

The geothermal sector has been growing steadily at around 3.5% since 2000, and is expected to continue to boom as a key renewable source of energy for heating and cooling applications. Extensive pipework is required to complete an effective geothermal system, and this gives JLT an opportunity.

WORKING DIRECT

Just as important as strong relationships with clients, JLT highlights it involvement in the supply chain as fundamental in its success. The material that goes into its end product must meet certain standards and must be managed effectively. Not simply a buy and sell operation, JLT has to ensure its supply chain is sustainable.

“We buy from everyone. There’s no company we won’t deal with,” declares Laing. “We will buy all available material from the supply chain and use our robust processes to establish what material can be repurposed with the rest going for recycling. This maximises revenues for operators and contractors and ensures they are not left with unwanted material. It also gives operators a complete audit trail of where their material is going from a duty of care point of view,” he adds.

By investing in added value capabilities, the company increases the markets it can sell to and has helped the company to differentiate, says Laing.

To add further capability, JLT recently invested in a new shredding machine from UNTHA. This state-of-the-art piece of equipment allows the company to shred tubular byproducts that cannot be reused or repurposed inhouse. The RS40 is capable of shredding plastic screw caps at a rate of half a tonne per hour. The system is then able to separate metals and plastics in the post-shred conveyor which can be sent for local recycling and reuse. Closing the loop in this way feeds into the company’s circular mantra.

“We had heard that UNTHA shredders are valued for their longevity and reliability, which is something we value as a company,” said JLT UK Purchasing Manager, Iain Bell. “We therefore arranged a trial with a small sample of material, to see if the technology could tackle our input material. Impressed from the outset, we then arranged a second ‘shred test’ to see how the machine performed with a full load. We were really pleased with the output quality.”

JLT’s 40 people are using all of these tools to build a meaningful business that contributes to the sustainability of the oil and gas industry, and the construction and piling industry. Importantly, where others fall short, JLT can back up all claims around sustainability with detailed data certified by a third party.

“We communicate the amount of CO₂ versus using a new product thanks to our LCA to both customers and suppliers,” confirms Laing. “There is a 97.2% saving buying from us instead of going to a steel mill. We really dug deep into everything that goes into our product from how much diesel we use, to how much gas we use, to how many gloves we use. We are the only one in the market to have an LCA to back up what we say. We actually save 2.136 tonnes of CO₂ from every tonne of steel you buy from us. If someone asks for proof of the saving, we can deliver that.”

This, alongside the introduction of the machine shop, says Laing, makes for a unique offering that is unavailable elsewhere. “From where we started to where we are today makes me very proud. We have built and changed the business into a completely different entity. We have more employees, we have the LCA, we have a machine shop, we hold stock, we can shred, we have a fabrication facility, we have the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development – it’s remarkable.”

And it feels like this forty-year-old business is still just getting started. As more stock becomes available with decommissioning increasing, and with world-class capability in house in the UK to fuel booming demand, JLT sits in a perfect position to thrive.