Tight pipe supplies bedevil U.S. energy companies

HOUSTON (Reuters) – A shortage of steel pipes could disrupt the boom in U.S. natural gas drilling for the energy companies that rely on the tubes to drill and line their wells.

Seamless steel pipes, known as tubular goods in the oil patch, are in short supply after an unexpected resurgence in the North American onshore drilling market.

The jump in natural gas prices earlier this year and the move to tap shale rock formations that were once seen as untenable have triggered a rush to secure tubular supplies, surprising the industry.

Reuters