China to lay gas pipes accross India

A vessel loaded with the natural gas pipes of Chinese Baoji Petroleum Steel Pipe Co (BSG) departed Liangungang port yesterday for Bombay Port, marking the first OCTG export of China to India. BSG and Wuhan Iron & Steel Group (Wuhan Steel) formed a joint venture and won a tender in India recently to supply 408,000 tons SSAW (spiral submerged arc welded) steel pipes for 800 km section of a 1,400 kilometer long natural gas trunk line to be constructed accross India. The joint venture will complete the delivery of entire order by 2007. BSG, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, is the first spiral submerged arc welded pipe manufacturer in China. The company has already supplied steel pipes for various projects in Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.