In 1978, Shell Oil wanted to use internally coated pipe but was not satisfied with existing pipe joining methods. They established certain criteria that had to be met to be a viable solution:
- No yielding or cold working of pipe ends
- No reduction of pipe length
- No significant reduction in pipe internal diameter
- No restriction on flow or pigging operations
- No damage to internal coatings
- No increase in installation speed
No increase in the cost of pipe installation
These requirements led to the development of the Positive Seal Coupling (PSC) system by Jack Gibson. Jetair was formed in 1982 and was acquired by Marubeni Itochu Tubulars Inc. in 1998. Jetair International “Jetair” is now the designer and seller of proprietary Positive Seal Coupling “PSC” systems, and is based in Houston, US and Abu Dhabi, UAE with operations in KSA, UAE, and Oman. The figure below shows some of the early histories of the PSC system and Jetair.