OREANDA-NEWS. JFE Steel Corporation (JFE), KSP Steel LLP (KSP) and Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. (MISI) announced today their signing of a memorandum of understanding to discuss how to strengthen their partnership in the steel industry of Kazakhstan and neighboring countries.

The three companies will discuss potential opportunities concerning technology, sales and materials supply related to the provision of advanced, high-quality steel pipe for resource and energy development.

Prior to this agreement, JFE agreed to license its JFEBEARTM technology to KSP in October 2012. JFEBEARTM, classified as a premium joint, is used for connecting oil-country tubular goods (OCTG) utilized in drilling extra-deep, high-deviation wells into high-pressure reservoirs.

Kazakhstan has been accelerating its development of oil and gas fields in environments containing corrosive hydrogen sulfide, requiring the use of high-quality OCTG. KSP, a Kazakhstani seamless steel pipe manufacturer operating since 2007, is now poised over to introduce JFE’s JFEBEARTM technology to provide higher-quality OCTG products to users in Kazakhstan. JFE, in addition to assisting KSP by licensing this technology, will undertake various initiatives to meet customer demands in Kazakhstan.