API is the abbreviation of American Petroleum Institute. API was established in 1919 and was the first national-level business association in the United States. An important task of API is to be responsible for the standardization of equipment used in the oil and natural gas industry to ensure the safe and reliable interchangeability of equipment used in the industry. API enjoys a high prestige in the United States and abroad. The technical standards for petrochemical and oil extraction machinery developed by it are adopted by many countries. It is a petroleum machinery certification body recognized by both the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Commission. API certification standards also enjoy a high reputation in the international arena. Petroleum machinery bearing the API mark is not only considered to be of reliable quality but also of advanced technology, of course, the price is also high.
API standards are divided into three categories:
(1) Petroleum equipment design and manufacturing specifications;
(2) Recommended practices for the use and maintenance of petroleum equipment;
(3) Recommended practices for drilling and oil production operations.
Under normal circumstances,
API standards are reviewed, revised, reconfirmed or withdrawn at least once every 5 years. Sometimes the review period can be extended once, but the extension does not exceed 2 years. Therefore, the re-publication of air supremacy has been postponed, and the API standard is no longer valid after 5 years from the date of publication.
API does not require compulsory laboratory testing for products applying for certification, but API proposes 55 detailed specifications for various equipment involving oil and natural gas collection and processing industries. For example, the 6D specification involves pipeline valves, including ball valves, gates, and check valves. These specifications specify the minimum requirements that petroleum steel pipe products(
casing pipe,
drill pipe, casing joint) must meet. Although there is no mandatory testing, API observers will check the product plan submitted by the manufacturer to ensure that the manufacturer’s production process is in the implementation of the product planning system.
