All About Drill Pipes: What are They & What are They Used For?

Drilling oil, gas, water and other natural resources requires a wide-range of essential tools and equipment for the project to be completed effectively. Drill pipes are one of these tools that are absolutely necessary for any drilling project. Below we will take a look at drill pipes, and breakdown their classification, uses and sizing.

What is a Drill Pipe?

A drill pipe is a seamless steel pipe that composes around 95% of the length of a drill string. For clarity, a drill string is what is used to actually drill into the ground to extract resources. The drill pipe is hollow, which allows drilling fluid to flow freely throughout the pipe and the pumping process to be completed successfully.

Drill pipes are manufactured to transfer drilling torque the entire length of the pipe – often several miles. They are also created to resist pressure changes and need to have the ability to hold the entire weight of the deeper drilling components. Drill pipes are manufactured by welding together the threaded tool joint, the box tool joint and the pin tool joint. These joints are used in the top section of the drill string to pump fluid and transfer torque to the bit.

How are the Sizings of Drill Pipes Measured?

The individual joints of the drill pipe are called a “Single”. The “Singles” are then further identified by their length. Specifically, the lengths are identified using a three-part API length range, so the lengths will be classified as a one, two or a three. The most common length of drill pipes is range two. This is important, because when looking to determine the depth of drilling, you need to exactly take into account the length of the drill string (including the drill pipe).

Drill pipes are manufactured in a variety of sizes and materials, meaning there is a perfect drill pipe for your project. Similar to the API length ranges, there are also groupings of API classes, based on the size and material of the drill pipe. The API classes measure yield strength, tensile strength, the drill-pipe body and the tool joint.

API classes are given based on inspection, and these inspections are especially important after the drill pipes have been used. Ultrasonic testing and a wide-range of other tools are used to give these measurement ranges.

Determining the proper drill pipe for your drilling project can be a difficult choice to make. Luckily, our drilling experts are available to answer questions on your drilling tool selection. Give us a call for answers today!