API Standard

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in production, refinement, distribution, and many other aspects of the petroleum industry.

API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and is the global leader in convening subject matter experts across segments to establish, maintain, and distribute consensus standards for the oil and gas industry. In its first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational safety, environmental protection and sustainability across the industry, especially through these standards being adopted globally.

API standards are developed under API’s American National Standards Institute accredited process, ensuring that the API standards are recognized not only for their technical rigor but also their third-party accreditation which facilitates acceptance by state, federal, and increasingly international regulators.

Since 1924, the American Petroleum Institute has been a cornerstone in establishing and maintaining standards for the worldwide oil and natural gas industry. Our work helps the industry invent and manufacture superior products consistently, provide critical services, ensure fairness in the marketplace for businesses and consumers alike, and promotes the acceptance of products and practices by industry and governments globally as outlined in the new
Standards enhance the safety of industry operations, assure quality, help keep costs down, reduce waste, and minimize confusion. They help speed acceptance, bring products to market quicker, and avoid having to reinvent the wheel every time a product is manufactured.

Some of the commonly used API Standard as below:

API 6D – Specification for Pipeline Valves

API 608 – Metal Ball Valves – Flanged, Threaded, and Welding Ends

API 600- Steel Gate Valves – Flanged and Butt-welding Ends, Bolted Bonnets

API 607-Fire Test for Quarter-turn Valves and Valves Equipped with Nonmetallic Seats

API 602- Gate, Globe, and Check Valves for Sizes DN 100 (NPS 4) and Smaller for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industries

API 609- Butterfly Valves: Double-Flanged, Lug-and Wafer Type

API 598- Valve Inspection and Testing

API 594- Check Valves: Flanged, Lug, Wafer, and Butt-welding

API 623 – Steel Globe Valves—Flanged and Butt-welding Ends, Bolted Bonnets

API 603-  Corrosion-resistant, Bolted Bonnet Gate Valves – Flanged and Butt-welding Ends