OREANDA-NEWS. TMK, one of the world’s largest oil and gas pipe producers and the market leader of the Russian pipe industry, on November 9 announced that it had signed an agreement for the supply of a Fine Quality Mill (FQM) from Danieli, a world leader in the design, manufacturing and installation of equipment for the steel industry, to be installed at its Seversky Tube Works (STW) subsidiary.

According to the company's information department, the modernisation of one of STW’s pipe rolling workshops with this new FQM (three-roll retained mandrel mill) is aimed at achieving cost savings, improving quality, product mix and enhancing production of the seamless high-performance pipes for the oil and gas industry.

The new Seversky FQM system will have a capacity of 600,000 tonnes of pipes per year and will produce hot-rolled seamless pipes with diameters ranging from 168 to 365 mm and wall thickness of 6.28 to 37.3 mm. The new mill is scheduled to be brought on line in the second quarter of 2010.

A modern metallurgical complex is also being built in parallel to supply the new STW mill with billets. In December 2006, a new continuous casting machine with a capacity of 950,000 tonnes per year was put into operation and an electric arc steel melting furnace with a capacity of about 1 million tonnes per year will be commissioned next year.

These new projects fall under the scope of TMK's Strategic Investment Programme running until 2010.

"TMK’s long-term modernisation programme relies on the most relevant and up to date technologies provided by the world's leading manufacturers of metallurgical equipment. We are certain that cooperating with such cutting-edge and technologically pioneering companies will allow us to successfully implement the Company’s Strategic Investment Programme and strengthen our position in the global high-technology seamless pipe market," said TMK CEO, Konstantin Semerikov.