Reinforced thermoplastic pipe

It was initially developed in the early 1990s by Wavin Repox, Akzo Nobel and by Tubes d'Aquitaine from France, who developed the first pipes reinforced with synthetic fibre to replace medium pressure steel pipes in response to growing demand for non-corrosive conduits for application in the onshore oil and gas industry, particularly in the Middle East.

[1] Typically, the materials used in the construction of the pipe might be Polyethylene (PE), Polyamide-11 or PVDF and may be reinforced with Aramid or Polyester fibre although other combinations are used.

[2] More recently the technology of producing such pipe, including the marketing, rests with a few key companies, where it is available in coils up to 400 m (1,312 ft) length.

this type of pipe has been acknowledged as a standard alternative solution to steel for oilfield flowline applications by certain oil companies and operators.

The idea of synthetic fibre reinforced pipe has origins in the flexible hose and offshore industry where it has been frequently used for applications such as control lines in umbilicals and production flowlines for over 30 years.