Russia-based pipe producing company United Metallurgical Company (OMK) has announced that it has fully fulfilled its contractual obligation to deliver large diameter (LD) pipes for the Central Asia-China-3 project which is aimed at increasing the capacity of the main gas pipeline between Kazakhstan and China.
In the January-September period of the current year, OMK shipped for the pipeline project a total of 115,000 mt of pipes of 1,219 mm diameter, 17.5 mm wall thickness, and of steel grade L555M/X80M, with external and internal corrosion-resistant coatings. The large diameter pipes for the part of the line in Kazakhstan were produced at Vyksa Steel Works (part of OMK) from its own steel sheet produced at its heavy plate mill 5000. Production and testing of the pipes, which are in compliance with API (American Petroleum Institute) Specification 5L (PSL 2 level), were carried out by inspectors from Moody International.
In 2008-2009, OMK delivered 260,000 mt of pipes of 1,067 mm diameter, 15.9 mm wall thickness, and with external and internal corrosion-resistant coatings for the construction of the first two sections of the Central Asia-China pipeline (Uzbekistan-China and Kazakhstan-China lines).