OREANDA-NEWS. On November 08, 2007 ZAO Izhora Pipe Mill (“IPM”), Russia’s only producer of large-diameter pipes up to 18,3 metres in length, has successfully completed a certification procedure for compliance of its products with the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) offshore pipeline quality standard, reported the press-centre of Severstal.

Certification of IPM pipes according to this standard is consistent with IPM’s strategy of being a multipurpose supplier of pipes for the construction of oil and gas pipelines. IPM plans to produce 375,000 tons of large-diameter pipes by the end of the year. The mill is scheduled to be up and running at full capacity in 2008.

IPM General Director О. Urnev said: “A DNV certificate is an international acknowledgement of the quality of our pipes, which were ranked highly by competent experts in the oil and gas industry and are in strong demand in the market. Our clients include companies such as Gazprom, Transneft and NOVATEK, and we intend to broaden our cooperation with them under, amonst others, the Nord Stream Project. We are confident that this certificate will serve to complement our unique experience in the production of large-diameter pipes, enabling us to expand the circle of our consumers and improve the quality of our services.”

Additional Info
ZAO Izhora Pipe Mill, commissioned in July 2006, produces large-diameter pipes for the oil and gas industry. IPM products have been certified in compliance with Quality Management System Standards DNV, GOST R ISO 9001-2001, ISO/TS 29001:2003, API Specification Q1, Gazprom and Transneft standards. About $300 million has been invested in the mill. Overall production in the first half of 2007 was about 101,000 tons of pipes. Located in the Kolpino District of St. Petersburg, IPM is capable of producing up to 650,000 tons of single-joint welded pipes per year. The mill is located in close proximity to Mill 5000 (LPTs-3 CherМK OAO Severstal), a supplier of a tubular billet (strip) for large-diameter pipes. IPM’s main clients include major Russian companies such as OAO Gazprom, Transneft and NOVATEK.