Russia-based TMK, one of the world's leading oil and gas steel pipe producers, has announced its operational results for the second quarter and first half of the current year.
In the second quarter, TMK shipped 666,000 mt of steel pipes to customers, down eight percent quarter on quarter. The fall was a result of a decrease in welded pipe shipments at the Russian division. Accordingly, TMK's welded pipe shipments in the second quarter this year declined by 40 percent quarter on quarter to 133,000 mt, due to lower shipments across all welded pipe segments at the Russian division, with large diameter pipe consumption contracting by 42 percent quarter on quarter.
In the same period, the company's shipments of seamless pipes increased by six percent quarter on quarter to 533,000 mt, reflecting an eight percent quarter-on-quarter growth in shipments of seamless OCTG pipes at the Russian division and a growth in shipments of seamless industrial pipes at both the Russian and European divisions.
In the first half of the current year, TMK's total pipe shipments fell by 13 percent year on year to 1.393 million mt. In the given period, the company's seamless pipe shipments totaled 1.038 million mt, down eight percent year on year, while shipments of welded pipes amounted to 355,000 mt, down 26 percent year on year.
As regards the future prospects, TMK expects the demand for its products in Russia to remain under pressure in the third quarter of the current year, due to the ongoing challenging market conditions and the planned upgrade and maintenance works at the Russian division's production facilities. Meanwhile, in Europe the gradual recovery of industrial consumption is expected in the third quarter.