The Russian state-run gas monopoly Gazprom expects in 2011-2013 to double its purchases of large diameter (LD) steel pipes to up to two million mt per year.
In 2009, the supplies of steel tubular products to Gazprom totaled 884,000 mt, including 844,000 mt of LD pipes, while deliveries of the respective products in 2010 are expected to reach 1.325 million mt and 1.277 million mt respectively. By February 1 next year, Gazprom is expected to determine its steel pipe needs for a three-year term.
In 2010, Gazprom managed to keep prices for purchased steel tubular products at the levels of 2009, mainly due to its improved payment system and a significant increase in orders. Meanwhile, due to collaboration with the country's leading steel pipe producing companies, Gazprom has been reducing its imports of LD steel pipe each year. In general, from 2003 to 2009, Gazprom reduced the share of imported steel pipes in its overall steel pipe purchases from 48 percent to five percent.
According to the Interfax news agency, currently, Russia's production capacities of LD steel pipes amount to about five million mt, including over three million mt of single-weld steel pipes with diameters of up to 4,420 mm. These products are produced by ChTPZ Group's Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant, OMK's Vyksa Steel Works (Vyksa), TMK's Volzhsky Pipe Plant and Severstal's Izhora Pipe Mill.