Saudi Arabian steelmaker Al Tuwairqi Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese pipe maker Wuxi Seamless Pipes to build a fifty-fifty joint venture seamless pipe plant in Saudi Arabia's eastern port city of Dammam. The companies are planning to sign the joint venture agreement and to begin construction of the plant very soon.
The first phase of the project will be completed within 10 months. This stage will consist of the finishing lines including threading, coupling and heat treatment. Meanwhile, the second phase construction, which is for seamless pipe production, will be completed in 18 months, and the plant will begin to operate in the first quarter of 2009.
The plant will produce an annual 750,000 tons of seamless steel pipes for the oil and gas industry, mainly aiming to meet the requirements in the Middle East market. There is a high demand for seamless steel pipes in the region, though up to now no seamless pipe plants have been based there.