Russia-based TMK, one of the world's leading oil and gas steel pipe producers, has announced its operational results for the first half of the current year.
In the first half, TMK shipped 2.056 million mt of steel pipes to customers, representing a 3.9 percent decrease compared to the same period of last year. Shipments in the second quarter rose by 1.2 percent quarter on quarter to 1.034 million mt.
In the first half of the year, seamless pipe shipments fell by 1.3 percent year on year to 1.227 million mt. Shipments of seamless pipes in the second quarter fell by 3.9 percent quarter on quarter to 601,000 mt.
TMK's welded pipe shipments declined by 7.6 percent year on year in the first six months to 829,000 mt. Second quarter shipments were up by 9.3 percent compared to the first quarter, totaling 433,000 mt.
In the January-June period of the current year, TMK's oil country tubular good (OCTG) shipment volumes increased by 8.1 percent year on year to 971,000 mt, while in the second quarter shipment volumes registered a 2.1 percent decline compared to the first quarter, falling to 480,000 mt.
Shipments of premium connections rose to 404,000 joints in the first half of the current, up 9.2 percent year on year, with shipment volumes rising by 9.5 percent quarter on quarter in the second quarter.
According to the company's outlook, the Russian tubular market is likely to grow in the second half of this year driven mainly by the increase in horizontal drilling and development of unconventional oil and gas fields. As a result, TMK expects a steady demand for oil and gas pipes, particulary seamless OCTG.