OREANDA-NEWS. April 28, 2011. Vyksa Steel Works (VSW, Nizhni Novgorod Region), part of United Metallurgical Company (OMK), completed its deliveries of large-diameter pipes (LDP) for the construction of Phase 2 of the international gas pipeline Nord Stream, reported the press-centre of OMK.

From May 2010 to April 2011, more than 200 thousand tonnes of pipes of 1,220 mm in diameter (wall thickness: 34.6 mm) were dispatched to the Customer. These pipes having external three-layer corrosion-resistant and internal friction-reducing coating (steel grade: SAWL 485 IFD (X70) meet relevant standards of Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Norway, for subsea gas pipelines and the additional requirements of the Nord Stream project. "The contract with Nord Stream AG was performed with high quality and on schedule owing to OMK's scientific and technological potential and the large-scale investment program implemented by Vyksa Steel Works," emphasized OMK Vice President and VSW Executive Director Vladimir Kochetkov. "The fact that OMK is the preferred bidder for the supply of pipes for Nord Stream AG confirms the Company's status as one of the world's largest manufacturer of large-diameter pipes for the most sophisticated projects."

"We are fully satisfied with OMK's contractual performance," said Nord Stream Project Director Henning Kothe. "All the pipes were supplied on schedule. For the project, OMK manufactured high quality pipes, including a batch of unique pipes having 41 mm in wall thickness."

OMK entered into the contract for the first link of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in November 2007. Under the contract, VSW produced more than 260 thousand tonnes of pipes of 1,220 mm in diameter with wall thicknesses of 30.9, 34.6, and 41.0 mm (steel grade: SAWL 485 IFD (X70). The pipes of 41 mm in wall thickness are unique in terms of their characteristics and withstand the working pressure of 220 atmospheres.

All in all, more than 460 thousand tonnes of large-diameter pipes were manufactured for Phases 1 and 2 of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. VSW launched the production of LDP designed for subsea pipeline systems in 2006–2007. The Company became Russia's and the CIS's first qualified producer of pipes according to DNV-OS-F101, which is the world's reference standard applied for the installation of oil and gas pipelines of enhanced quality, wear-resisting properties, and endurance on continental shelves throughout the world.

The Nord Stream gas pipeline will run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea and connect Russian gas fields with the EU countries. The capacity of Nord Stream's first line of 1,224 km will be 27.5 billion cu m a year, while the second line will increase the capacity up to 55 billion cu m a year. At present, the construction progress of Nord Stream's first line is 92% (1,129 km of pipes laid). The construction of the second line will start in summer 2011.