OREANDA-NEWS. August 30, 2007. In the period of 2007-2009, United Metallurgical Company (ОМК CJSC) plans to invest more than 2.5 billion rubles in the modernization of the small and medium diameter pipe production complex (EPWC SMD) which is a part of Vyksa Steel Works Company (VSW OJSC, Nizhni Novgorod Region).

Since 2003, VSW has witnessed a large-scale modernization of EPWC SMD. Investments in the project from 2003 to 2007 amounted to 2.3 billion rubles. The objective of the Integrated EPWC SMD reconstruction project is to increase capacity and boost sales by means of improvement of inherent characteristics of products and mastering production of the new types of pipes.

Under the project the oil-and-gas pipe production shop plans to upgrade the inlet of TESA 203-530 mill line, to replace line preshaping stands and to master shaped tubes production meant for construction sector. These measures will allow producing pipes of Х70 (К60) strength grade with wall thicknesses of up to 12.7 mm within the range from 203 to 530 mm in diameter as well as shaped tubes of rectangular and square cross-sections; besides, it will also allow an increase of the shop’s capacity to more than 450 thousand tonnes of pipes a year compared to 321.5 thousand tonnes in 2006.

The shop, producing casing pipes for development of oil-gas fields, plans to install new socket cutting units, to modernize the inlet of TESA 114-245 mill and to complete the third pipe cutting line. These measures will allow an increase of the TESTs-5’s capacity to 400 thousand tonnes a year (285 thousand tonnes were produced in 2006), to boost production of pipes with highly hermetic threads and pipes of better strength grades.

Implementation of the project will let OMK to improve its position in the fast growing Russian and world markets of medium diameter pipes designed for the development of oil-gas fields and construction of main pipelines, meet growing requirements of leading energy companies to strength, corrosion-resistance, cold resistance and other consumer characteristics of pipes.