OCTG Resources.
Grades, Color Bands, Pricing and the Pipe Chart, Explained in Plain English.
Everything a buyer asks us on the phone, written down. What J55 and P110 mean, what a green band is, why used pipe is 40 to 60 percent cheaper, how a quote is built, and where to look up who is drilling in your state.
OCTG Pipe Chart
150 sizes of casing and tubing with weight, wall, ID and drift. The chart Google already sends people to.
02OCTG Grades Explained
J55, K55, N80, L80, P110, Q125 and the 13Cr grades, with yield strength and where each one gets run.
03Used Pipe Color Bands
White, yellow, blue, green and red. What the band means and which band your job needs.
04How Pipe Is Priced
Per foot or per joint, Range 2 or Range 3, freight, truckload math and why used is cheaper.
05Who Is Drilling Where
Free state permit databases for Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, North Dakota, Wyoming and Louisiana.
06Buying FAQ
New prime vs new surplus vs used, connections, MTRs, minimums, lead times and what to send for a quote.
The letter is the family, the number is the minimum yield in thousands of psi
API 5CT grades are named for minimum yield strength. J55 yields at 55,000 psi, P110 at 110,000. Higher grade means deeper, higher pressure wells and a higher price per foot.
Connections
STC short thread and coupled, surface casing. LTC long thread and coupled, more thread engagement for deeper casing. BTC buttress, the standard for production casing in horizontal wells. EUE 8RD external upset eight round, the standard tubing connection. NUE non upset tubing. Premium proprietary gas tight connections for high pressure and horizontal wells.
Range lengths
Range 1 16 to 25 ft, rare. Range 2 25 to 34 ft, the standard for casing and tubing, usually 30 to 32 ft per joint. Range 3 34 to 48 ft, common on 13 3/8" and larger surface casing and preferred by some operators for production casing to cut connection count.
Weight per foot
Casing and tubing are described by OD and nominal weight per foot, which fixes the wall thickness. 5 1/2" 17# has a 0.304" wall, 5 1/2" 20# has 0.361". Heavier weight means thicker wall, higher collapse and burst, and more pounds on the truck. The pipe chart has every size.
The paint on the coupling end tells you the wall loss
After EMI inspection each used joint is graded by how much wall it has lost to wear and corrosion, measured against the nominal wall for that size and weight, and painted with a band. The colors are an industry convention used by inspection companies across the Rockies, the Permian and the Mid-Continent. White and yellow go back down the hole. Blue, green and red go to water wells, piling, fence and structural work.
Price follows the band. White costs the most, red the least. Full detail and sizes on the used inspected pipe page.
Nobody in this business posts a price list. Here is how the number gets built.
OCTG moves with steel prices, tariffs, import duties and rig count, sometimes week to week. Every quote is dated and good for a stated window. Here is what goes into it.
Per foot, sold by the joint
OCTG is quoted in dollars per foot and sold by the joint, so a 31 ft joint of 2 7/8" at a per foot price is 31 times that number. Tubing and casing are sometimes quoted per ton on big new prime orders; divide by weight per foot to compare.
New prime, new surplus, used
New prime is current mill production with full MTRs, the highest price. New surplus is never run pipe left over from projects, MTRs on hand, usually 10 to 30 percent under prime. Used inspected is 40 to 60 percent under new, graded by band.
Freight is in the quote
We quote delivered to your county or lease. A flatbed hauls roughly 40,000 to 45,000 lb, which is about 1,400 ft of 5 1/2" 20# casing or 6,500 to 7,000 ft of 2 7/8" tubing. Full trucks get the best price per foot; partial loads carry more freight per foot.
What moves the price
Grade (P110 costs more than J55), connection (premium over BTC over STC), range (R3 over R2), chrome content, domestic versus import, and the market that week. Section 232 tariffs and anti-dumping duties on imports have kept new prime high since 2025.
Size and weight, grade, connection, range, new or used (and which band), footage or joint count, and the county it is going to. Delivered price per foot within one business day.
Free state permit databases for the eight states we serve
Every state posts its drilling permits. If you are a landowner, a service company or a pipe yard wanting to know who is active in your county, these are the official sources.
These are state government sites. Black Gold Tubular and Steel is not affiliated with any of them.
The questions we get before the quote
What is the difference between new prime and new surplus?
Both are new, never run pipe with mill test reports. New prime is current mill production bought to order. New surplus is pipe left over from a project or a canceled order, sitting in a yard, sold at a discount because somebody already paid the mill for it. Same steel, same paperwork, lower price.
Can I get a mill test report?
Yes on every heat of new prime and new surplus, emailed before you commit. Used pipe does not come with an MTR; it comes with the EMI inspection report, drift results and band for each joint.
Can used tubing go back in a well?
White band (under 12.5 percent wall loss) and yellow band (12.5 to 15) are re-run every day as production tubing and casing. Both are drifted. Ask for a hydrotest if the well calls for it.
What is drift?
A drift mandrel is a steel cylinder of API specified diameter run through the full length of a joint to prove the inside is open. Tubing drifts at ID minus 3/32" (3 1/2" and larger minus 1/8"); casing at ID minus 1/8" to 3/16" depending on size. Drift diameters are on the pipe chart.
Is line pipe the same as OCTG?
No. OCTG is casing and tubing made to API 5CT for inside the well. Line pipe is made to API 5L (Grade B, X42, X52 and up) for carrying oil, gas and water on the surface. Different spec, different grades, different pricing. We sell both.
What is the minimum order?
One joint from any yard with pipe on the ground. Truckload quantities get the best price per foot because freight is spread over more feet.
How fast can you deliver?
Quote within one business day. A flatbed is typically on the road within a few days of the purchase order and at the location within one to two days of loading, depending on the state. Rush loads for a rig waiting on pipe get a same day callback.
Do you buy pipe?
Yes. Surplus new pipe, pulled strings and yard cleanouts, anywhere in our eight states. Send the tally, sizes, grades and location and we make an offer with trucking included.
Call or email. A person who sells pipe will answer.
Twenty years in OCTG. If it is not on this page, ask.
Arvada, Colorado
Inventory in multiple yards across the USA
(720) 621-6351
amber@blackgoldtubular.com
Mon to Fri 8:00am to 6:00pm MT