Russia-based pipe producer TMK announced Thursday that in the first half of 2012, shipments of tubular products from its American division grew by 19.4 percent year-on-year to 572,000 metric tons (mt). Shipments in Q2 2012 remained flat with the prior quarter and equaled 286,000 mt.
In the first half 2012, the American division increased shipments of seamless and welded OCTG by 22.1 percent and 20.6 percent year-on-year respectively. The quarter-on-quarter growth was 17.9 percent and 10.6 percent respectively. TMK's American division decreased welded line pipe shipments by 50.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, primarily due to plant downtime related to the completion of a capital project in the Wilder, Kentucky facility.
TMK noted that more than 70 percent of active drilling rigs are now employed in oil drilling due to relatively stable crude oil prices and continued weakness in gas prices. But even as rig count activity continues to shift from gas to oil, oil exploration continues support demand for TMK premium connections.