The Ukrainian Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (MKMT) has decided to abolish from April 1, 2010 the import quota for seamless and OCTG pipes of API Spec 5CT 8th edition / ISO. 11960:2004 standard, with diameters of 340, 213, 244, 299, 254, 251, 178 or 14 mm, regardless of the product origin, to be used for oil and gas extraction.
The decision to abolish the quota for the products in question was taken within the framework of the projects for exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons, which are implemented by the Ukrainian fuel and energy complex. The main problem faced by oil and gas operators in Ukraine is that local steel mills cannot yet produce seamless steel casing and tubing of smaller diameters as required by international standards.
According to MKMT, the abolishment of the quota for imports of seamless and OCTG pipes will not affect the Ukrainian pipe producers.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in late July 2008 Ukraine introduced a three-year quota for imports of seamless and OCTG pipes with outside diameter not exceeding 406.4 mm at the level of 14,504-15,955 mt/year for the period starting from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2011.
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