OREANDA-NEWS. August 21, 2012. POSCO will supply the highest-quality of maritime structure steel plates for construction of fixed maritime structures for oil drilling in the North Sea. This steel will be used by Samkang M&T, specializing in thick wall steel pipes, which received the orders to construct the platform, reported the press-centre of POSCO.

This steel, considered as the highest-quality even amongst European standard steel for maritime structures, is used in constructing maritime plants including underwater oil and glass drilling, production, and refining facilities, and are especially applied to areas where high fracture toughness is required such as connecting areas of the top and bottom of the maritime structure, or at the ground under water which supports the bottom portion. POSCO has succeeded in supply by securing high strength, low temperature toughness, and thickness.

As resource development ranges are expanding to deep sea and extremely cold regions due to a severe exhaustion of resources in both land and sea areas near land, demand of high quality product development has been growing in the steel plate market to withstand these development conditions.

POSCO has received excellent evaluations on quality from major oil companies and EPC companies, and will continue to provide European standard highest quality of maritime structure steel to Samsung Heavy Industries for the world`s largest sea gas processing facility in Australia in addition to the Samkang M&T project.

POSCO has been preparing entrance into the steel plate market for energy industries for the past few years and has set a vision to reach 10% of market share in the worldwide markets of steel plate material market for energy industry by 2020 last April.

In addition, the Company will establish a customized sales system considering the industry characteristics to lead the energy industry steel plate market, and secure POSCO type core technologies and facility competitiveness.

Meanwhile, the fixed maritime structure constructed by Samkang M&T using POSCO supplied maritime structure steel plates will be installed 300? from the Shetland Islands in the North Sea, at 135m under water. Daily oil production is 24,000 barrels with production starting in the fourth quarter of 2014.

An officer of Samkang M&T commented, ``POSCO`s products with excellent quality can replace high cost import materials, securing competitiveness in both cost and quality. The products gave an impression that an excellent product can be produced with stable supply of high quality steel plate, giving positive impact in receiving the project from the overseas ordering partner.``