Seamless pipe demand in Saudi Arabia remains strong owing to government-funded construction projects. However, domestic quotations of locally produced seamless pipes in Saudi Arabia have stayed unchanged over the past month amid government regulations. At the same time, offers of Chinese material have decreased by $20-50/mt. Import quotations of Ukrainian and Russian seamless pipes have decreased by a maximum of $10/mt over the period in question, while South African suppliers have cut their offers by $30-50/mt. Offers of top quality seamless pipes from Germany and Japan have remained stable. Meanwhile, Saudi buyers prefer to buy material in the domestic market as in state projects locally produced pipes are mostly used. Market participants believe seamless pipe demand will remain strong throughout Q1 and Q2 this year.
Market traders report that local manufacturer Jubail Energy Services Company (JESCO) is offering seamless pipes of 6"-12" grade B made to API 5L to the domestic market at around $1,200-1,230/mt ex-works.
Offers of Chinese seamless pipes of 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM are being given to the Saudi Arabian market at $950-1,030/mt CFR.
Quotations of Ukrainian seamless pipes (Interpipe) of 2"-8" grade B made to ASTM are at $1,120-1,190/mt CFR. Russian seamless pipes (Volzhsky) of 2"-8" grade B as per ASTM are being offered to the Saudi market at $1,100-1,160/mt CFR.
South African seamless pipes (ArcelorMittal), 3"-6" grade B made to ASTM, are quoted at around $1,320-1,350/mt CFR.
Quotations of seamless pipes from France and Germany (V&M) and from Japan (Sumitomo) for 2"-6" grade B made to ASTM are at about $1,500-1,600/mt CFR.