Russia-based TMK, one of the world's leading oil and gas steel pipe producers, has announced its operational results for the first half of the current year.
In the first half of the year, TMK shipped 1.73 million mt of steel pipes, decreasing by 11.3 percent year on year, mainly due to lower sales of welded pipe. In particular, in the first half this year the company’s seamless pipe shipments declined by 5.1 percent to 1.15 million mt and its welded pipe shipments decreased by 21.5 percent to 585,000 mt, both year on year.
Meanwhile, in the first six months this year, TMK's oil country tubular good (OCTG) shipment volumes decreased by 14.3 percent quarter on quarter to 654,000 mt, due to lower shipments by the American division resulting from the unfavorable market situation in the first quarter of the year.
According to TMK’s statement, in the third quarter of the current year, large diameter (LD) pipe shipments in the Russian market will show a downward trend, following a slowdown in the implementation of pipeline projects. The American market situation will remain challenging in the third quarter and shipments of the American division are not expected to grow significantly before 2017, due to large inventories of tubular products in the US. Meanwhile, in the third quarter this year, the European market is expected to show a quarter-on-quarter decline in industrial pipe orders, following the traditional slowdown in business activity during the holiday season. In 2016, TMK expects shipments to remain broadly flat year on year.