Russia-based TMK, one of the world's leading oil and gas steel pipe producers, has announced its operational results for the first half of the current year.
In the first half, TMK shipped 2.140 million mt of steel pipes to customers, representing a 1.7 percent increase compared to the same period of last year. Shipments in the second quarter rose by 2.4 percent quarter on quarter to 1.083 million mt.
In the first half of the year, seamless pipe shipments fell by 1.2 percent year on year to 1.244 million mt. Shipments of seamless pipes in the second quarter fell by one percent quarter on quarter to 619,000 mt.
TMK's welded pipe shipments rose by 5.9 percent year on year in the first six months, reaching 896,000 mt, driven, among other factors, by rising demand for large diameter (LD) pipes and line pipe from Russian consumers. Second quarter shipments were up by 7.2 percent compared to the first quarter, totaling 464,000 mt.
In the January-June period of the current year, TMK's oil country tubular good (OCTG) shipment volumes increased by 0.7 percent year on year to 898,000 mt, while in the second quarter shipment volumes registered 6.9 percent growth compared to the first quarter, rising to 464,000 mt.
Shipments of premium connections rose to 370,000 joints for the first half of 2013, up 22 percent year on year, with shipment volumes rising by 26 percent quarter on quarter in the second quarter.
The company confirms earlier announced expectations that its Russian division will continue to see strong demand for OCTG and line pipe in the remainder of 2013 as Russian oil and gas players fulfill their production plans. The LD pipe segment is expected to see stable demand in the second half of the current year.