Kazakhstan's first seamless pipe plant, named KSP Steel Ltd, commissioned production in the country's northeastern region of Pavlodar late last week.
The new plant, worth KZT 140 million ($1.15 million), will be specialized in the production of large diameter seamless pipes which are used in the oil and gas industry. KSP Steel Ltd's designed production capacity of 270,000 metric tons a year is expected to be achieved by 2010.
Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who participated in the inauguration of the new plant, stated that seamless steel pipes are in great demand worldwide, mainly due to the expansion of the oil and gas industry, and proceeded to express his hopes for the expansion of seamless steel production in Kazakhstan.