OREANDA-NEWS. The following contains forward looking statements concerning future events. These forward looking  statements are based on current information and assumptions of TMK management concerning known and unknown risks and uncertainties.
TMK (LSE: TMKS), a leading global manufacturer and supplier of steel pipes  for the oil and gas industry, announces its operational results for nine  months of 2013.

3Q 2013 and 9M 2013 Highlights

•  TMK shipped a total of 3,200 thousand tonnes of steel pipe to customers in the first nine months of 2013, up 1.7% year-on-year, on the back of  stronger  demand for welded OCTG  pipe and large  diameter pipe (LDP). Shipments fell by 2.1% quarter-on-quarter.
•  Seamless pipe shipments fell by 2.8% year-on-year to 1,807 thousand  tonnes in  the first  nine months of 2013. Shipments fell by 9.0%  quarter-on-quarter to 563 thousand tonnes due to scheduled repair of  rolling mills at Seversky Tube Works and Volzhsky Pipe Plant.
•  Welded pipe shipments rose by 8.3% year-on-year  up to  1,393 thousand tonnes in the first nine months of 2013, mainly driven  by increasing demand for LDP and line pipe from Russian customers as well as welded OCTG in the USA. Compared to the second quarter  of 2013, the third quarter welded pipe shipments were up by 7.1%.
•  Total OCTG shipments, TMK’s core product, increased by 4.2% year-on-year, but were down 4.1% quarter-on-quarter.
•  Shipments of premium connections totalled 573 thousand joints in the first nine months of 2013, up 22.7% year-on-year. Shipments were  down 1.9% quarter-on-quarter.

3Q 2013 and 9M 2013 Market Overview and Performance by Division Russian Division In  the first nine months 2013, TMK’s Russian division shipped  2,239 thousand tonnes, up 1.9% year-on-year. Shipments fell by 2.9% to  731 thousand tonnes quarter-on-quarter.
In  the  first  nine months of 2013, LDP shipments totalled  350 thousand  tonnes, up 12% year-on-year, but down 7.0% quarter-on-quarter, mainly due  to some pipeline projects being finalised in the first half of 2013 and, for new  projects, postponed to a later date.
Due to ever increasing oilfield-to-storage transportation demands in Russia, TMK’s Russian division saw a rise in welded line pipe shipments by 24.4%  year-on-year and by 14.5% quarter-on-quarter while shipments of seamless  OCTG pipe remained almost flat year-on-year but down 10.2% quarter-on-quarter as a result of the scheduled repair of rolling mills at the Russian  plants mentioned above.
Shipments in the welded and seamless industrial pipe segments were in line  with the previous year but increased quarter-on-quarter by 25.8% and 8.0%,  respectively, driven by a rising demand from the machine building and  construction industries in the third quarter of 2013.

American Division

TMK’s American division shipped  848 thousand tonnes  in  the  first  nine  months of 2013, up 1.4% year-on-year, and 294 thousand tonnes in the third  quarter of 2013, which is slightly above the second quarter  results.
Shipments of premium connections and OCTG also improved quarter-on-quarter by 7% and 4%, respectively. Commodity prices experienced in the second quarter of 2013 influenced the
Baker Hughes  rig activity in the third quarter. Higher gas prices in the  second quarter saw the U.S. natural gas rig count increase 6% in the third  quarter of 2013 compared to the second quarter of 2013 whereas lower  crude oil prices in the second quarter were reflected in a slight decline in oil  rig count by 1%, netting a third quarter average rig count of 1,770 in 2013,  up 1% quarter-on-quarter. Year-on-year the U.S. rig count was down 7%  from an average of 1,906 for the third quarter of 2012. In the third quarter of  2013, the vertical rig count continued to slowly decline to 25% of the total  U.S. rig count, as directional and horizontal rigs together amounted to 75%  of the total rig count, up 3% year-on-year.   More horizontal and directional  drilling helps support OCTG consumption despite a lower rig count.

The  trend of improving drilling efficiencies continued as operators drilled more  wells in less time and at greater depths.

Market demand for industrial products has remained stable compared to  prior quarter, but down from a year ago. Total import volumes have  increased quarter–on-quarter, but are lower than last year. Latest market  reports show OCTG import volumes have not significantly changed since the  filing of the trade case against nine countries.

European Division

In the third quarter of 2013, the European market environment continued to  be challenging.  The shrinking number of active projects coupled with  investor pessimism resulted in lower consumption of tubular goods while  also putting negative pressure on prices for industrial pipe.

However, shipments in TMK’s European division remained almost flat year-on-year at  113 thousand tonnes  and fell  by 8.4% quarter-on-quarter to  35 thousand tonnes.

Premium Segment

In the reporting period, overall demand for TMK’s premium connections continued to grow. TMK shipped a total of 573 thousand joints, up  22.7% year-on-year, but down 1.9% quarter-on-quarter.
In the USA shipments of TMK’s premium connections continued to increase  as operators look for better performance than API connections in drilling non  vertical wells.

TMK’s premium products were first used in Russia in a hydraulic fracturing  project, with TMK acting as a supplier of tubular goods (tubing and coupling with TMK FMT premium connections)  and  related  services  at the  Davydovskoye oil field operated by Orenburgneft, a Rosneft subsidiary. In  August 2013, TMK’s casing pipes with TMK PF premium connections were  qualified by ONGC, India’s state oil and gas company, and ADCO, one of  the largest oil companies in the Middle East.

Outlook

The Company confirms the earlier announced expectations that the Russian  division will continue to see a strong demand for OCTG and line pipe until  the end of 2013 as Russian oil and gas players fulfill their production plans.
The Company maintains its positive long-term U.S. market outlook. TMK  expects the challenging pricing environment to continue through the end of  the year as import inventories continue to apply downward pressure on  prices. The positive preliminary decision in the OCTG trade case announced  August 16 and subsequent price increases are expected to begin to be  reflected in improving transaction prices in Q4 and carryover into Q1 2014.
In general, the Company confirms its cautiously positive outlook for the  physical volumes in the current year and expects 2013 shipments to be at  least the same as in 2012.