Russia's largest oil and gas pipe producer TMK has announced that its North American division TMK IPSCO has achieved compliance with Canada-based Energy Resource Conservation Board (ERCB) Directive 010, Appendix B, which allows it to sell casing in grades H40, J55 and L80 produced as "new production" supplied from either its welded and seamless mills in the US or from TMK's seamless mills in Russia.
The ERCB, an independent, quasi-judicial agency of the provincial government of Alberta, regulates the safe, responsible and efficient development of oil, natural gas, oil sands and coal, as well as the pipelines to move these resources to the market. ERCB Directive 010, which became effective on September 22, 2008, mandates upgraded material specifications for casing materials manufactured in accordance with API Specification 5CT, when used in sour service. For wells with partial pressure H2S ≥ 0.34 kPa, the additional requirements are found in Appendix B of Directive 010.
Accordingly, TMK IPSCO has carried out an extensive testing program to ensure that all its mills are compliant with this directive, in order to be able to offer casing compliant with ERCB Directive 010, Appendix B.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, following a significant first-half drop, in the third quarter this year pipe shipments from TMK IPSCO increased 52 percent quarter on quarter to 96,000 mt on the back of increased oil and gas pipe demand, especially for OCTG products. TMK expects its US assets to reach a 70 percent utilization rate by the end of the year. These expectations are largely conditional on a recovery in US gas prices; given their current low levels, TMK forecasts a steep market upturn in 2010 compared to late 2009.