On December 29, Chinese steelmaker Beijing Shougang Steel Company Ltd (Shougang) announced that it has successfully developed X120 pipeline steel, the highest-strength grade of pipeline steel, becoming the fifth company in the world to develop X120 production technology, after producers including Japan-based steel giant Nippon Steel, JFE Steel Corp. and Chinese steel giant Baosteel Group. X120 pipeline steel enables 38 percent savings to be made in raw materials compared to X70 pipeline steel.
In 2008, Shougang's production of pipeline steel reached 500,000 mt, while the volume increased to 850,000 mt in 2009, of which HRC accounted for 700,000 mt. In the first 11 months of the current year, Shougang's output and sales of pipeline steel both exceeded 900,000 mt, with the output for the whole of 2010 expected to exceed 1,000,000 mt.