Prospecção tecnológica em ligas resistentes à corrosão para aplicação no setor de Óleo e Gás
Abstract
The steel industry is characterized by the production of metal alloys, mainly alloys based on
iron and carbon. The possible combinations of alloying elements, create new arrangements or
significant modifications of properties that result in special steels and high-alloy for
applications in extreme situation demanding material. In this sense, the industry of high
alloyed steels differs from conventional steels by a higher technological content and requires
more efforts in innovation from the companies. Object of this work, Corrosion Resistant
Alloys (CRAs), are part of this universe and are widely used in the Oil and Gas (O&G)
industry. Investments in this sector have been significant in recent years, mainly due to new
oil exploration frontiers, especially the pre-salt basis around the Brazilian coast. The materials
employed in the exploration wells shall fulfill the extremely corrosive conditions which
require alloys with specific characteristics to avoid the well to collapse and long term
operational life. These properties are reached by specific alloy arrangements and processes. In
this context, follow the materials technological development in this field can provide
competitive advantage and support technology management decisions. The aim of this work
was to identify technological development trends of CRAs, using technological indicators
extracted from patents. The main countries owning patents have been mapped, the time course
and the main steel alloys used in technological developments from the data indexed in the
Derwent Innovations Index based on the period from 1960 to 2011. The results show distinct
technological targets and intensity among the more patenting countries, pointing China as a
major holder of patents and the United States leading new research in the area. Brazil shows
an increasing trend in the number of patents, a fact explained by the importance of the country
in the O&G industry. This research also indicates that much of the research of the steel
industries in this sector is guided by customer needs.