Overview

OCTG, or oil country tubular goods, is the term for the steel pipe used in the extraction of oil and gas from a well. Argus Pipe Logix is the market leader in producing OCTG price assessments for the three main categories of OCTG- tubing, production casing, and surface casing. In addition to reporting OCTG prices by category, Argus further categorizes, assesses and examines OCTG prices produced through the two main manufacturing methods of OCTG pipe- electric resistance welded (ERW) OCTG and seamless (SML) OCTG. In total, Argus Pipe Logix publishes 47 OCTG price assessments on a monthly basis – 32 casing and tubing items used in US onshore wells and 15 associated averages of US distributor OCTG spot prices.

The Argus Pipe Logix OCTG ERW Index represents the US distributor spot price average of 17 ERW items of imported and domestically manufactured tubing, production casing and surface casing used in US onshore wells. The 17 ERW items range in size from 2.375” – 13.375”. The ERW prices for a variety of grades of ERW pipe are included in the index, namely J55, L80HC, and P110HC. In addition, Argus publishes 8 ERW associated averages.

The Argus Pipe Logix OCTG ERW Index is the most widely used ERW OCTG price assessment published by any pricing service for OCTG. It is used as a benchmark by some of the largest participants in the oilfield tubular market for contract settlement. In addition, the OCTG ERW Index is used throughout the industry for performance management, corporate planning and management reporting as it provides an accurate and timely ERW OCTG price trend for ERW pipe commonly used in US onshore wells.

The Argus Pipe Logix OCTG ERW Index is published on a monthly basis on the last Wednesday of the month as part of the Argus Pipe Logix OCTG Price Guide. The Argus Pipe Logix ERW OCTG index can be accessed through the Argus Direct online platform and is analysed with current and historical pricing trends as a part of the OCTG Service.

Price assessment details

What are the advantages of the Argus Pipe Logix ERW index?

The two common OCTG manufacturing processes, seamless (SML) and electric resistance welded (ERW), compete in the OCTG market. Each product prices a little differently in the market and ERW OCTG prices normally trade at a discount to SML OCTG prices. The Pipe Logix ERW Index is an average of the most popular ERW items used in US onshore wells, consisting of 4 tubing items, 4 production casing items and 9 surface casing items. The ERW Index provides an independent ERW price assessment of the market and highlights its unique pricing trends as compared to OCTG made using other manufacturing methods. Our extensive library of pricing, including 20+ years of ERW prices, makes Argus Pipe Logix uniquely positioned to produce the OCTG ERW Index and analyze the ERW OCTG market.

How is this assessment used?

The Argus ERW OCTG Index offers an independent evaluation of ERW OCTG prices and provides the current market price and its distinctive pricing trends in comparison to the SML OCTG market. The ERW and SML Index, together with the Argus Pipe Logix all items Index are included in the OCTG Service, giving users access to the most widely used benchmarks for OCTG available anywhere. A subscription to the OCTG Service also includes the monthly historical pricing trends of the ERW OCTG index with over 20 years of data, providing a tool for trend analysis.

Key price assessments