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 14 announced that construction of a new 600 thousand tonne Premium Quality Finishing (PQF) continuous pipe rolling mill is underway at its subsidiary TAGMET.

According to the TMK press service, this new mill will make it possible to produce high-performance 73-273 mm drill, casing, tubing and line pipes, in accordance with international standards. The German company SMS Meer, a world leader in steelmaking machinery and plants, designed the new mill and is responsible for manufacturing and supplying all the necessary equipment. Commissioning is scheduled for 2008.

Konstantin Semerikov, TMK's CEO, commented: "The main focus of our Strategic Investment Programme is to develop and enhance our seamless pipe capacity, particularly OCTG, which we will have increased by more than 60 percent by the year 2010. The introduction of a new PQF mill at TAGMET is an essential step in this direction."