Recent Developments on Martensitic Stainless Steels for Oil and Gas Production

The discovery of the first petroleum off-shore fields 30 meters below sea level in the Brazilian coast in 1968 stimulated the development of new technology for oil extraction and production in increasing water deepness. Outstanding levels such as 6000 meters were expected for oil extraction in the offshore pre-salt reservoirs in the 2010s, which demanded a large amount of material, raising costs to extremely high levels. So, considerable new research efforts are being directed towards the development of new martensitic steels, with improved properties as a lower cost option for such application. In the present work information is gathered about recent developments on new martensitic stainless steels capable of withstanding severe conditions of operation and exploration of petroleum in marine platforms. These materials must present adequate mechanical strength and corrosion resistance in these conditions. With this purpose such information, based on articles and patents published in international databases since the onset of the 21st century (2001) until 2012, is compiled and analyzed in this review article.