OREANDA-NEWS. March 20, 2008. TMK announces that it began shipments of 1420 mm large-diameter electric welded pipes with 21.6 mm wall thickness for use in the Nord Stream onshore section and designed for high-pressure applications of up to 9.8 MPa (100ATM).

This new range of large-diameter pipes was produced at TMK's Volzhsky Pipe Plant and a test batch was sent to a Gazprom test site in 2007. Full-scaled tests, including flow and explosive testing, evidenced the high mechanical properties of this new pipe range. These pipes are intended for the Nord Stream gas pipeline and other high-pressure applications under various climatic conditions, including arctic environments.

Following these tests, the pipes were certified by the Scientific-Research Institute of Natural Gases and Gas Technologies (VNIIGAZ) and approved by Gazprom's R&D department. TMK is able to supply large-diameter pipes with internal smooth coating and external anticorrosive coating options. Earlier this year, internal smooth coating equipment for welded pipes was commissioned at Volzhsky Pipe Plant.

In 2008, TMK expects to supply Gazprom with up to 70,000 tonnes of large-diameter pipes for the onshore section of Nord Stream.

"TMK now offers high-tech tubular products that meet the requirements of today's large-scale pipeline construction projects. We are constantly improving and developing our range of large-diameter pipes and implementing new production technologies, making our products suitable for the most severe operating conditions and aggressive environments. This makes it possible for us to participate in large-scale pipeline projects such as Nord Stream," commented TMK CEO, Konstantin Semerikov.