The Russian pipe producing company United Metallurgical Company (OMK) has announced the production results of its Nizhny Novgorod-based pipe producing subsidiary Vyksa Steel Works (Vyksa) for May and for the first five months of 2009.
In May 2009, Vyksa produced 115,519 mt of pipes - down 3.1 percent, including 66,741 mt of large diameter (LD) pipes - up 38.2 percent year on year. In the first five months of 2009, Vyksa’s output of pipes registered a decrease of two percent year on year to 606,330 mt. Meanwhile, during the period in question its output of LD pipes increased by 28.3 percent to 383,232 mt, compared to January-May 2008.
“The considerable increase in LD pipe output in May was due to OMK’s participation in mega projects for the construction of pipelines. In the previous month, Vyksa produced another big batch of LD pipes for the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, including the first LD pipes in the world of maximal 1,219 mm diameter and of 41 mm wall thickness. Vyksa also continued production of pipes for the Central Asia-China and Djubga-Sochi pipelines, under the orders of Gazprom and Transneft,” Vyksa’s executive director Vladimir Kochetkov stated.
The year-on-year decrease in output of small and medium diameter pipes was due to the instability of the markets caused by the world economic crisis, Mr. Kochetkov added.