OMK to supply pipes for Nord Stream's second link

United Metallurgical Company (OMK) has become Russia's only supplier of pipes for the construction of the second link of the Nord Stream gas pipeline on the bed of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. OMK obtained 25% of the contract. The remaining part will be shared by European company Europipe (65%) and Japan's Sumitomo (10%). Pipe delivery under this project is scheduled to start in May 2010.

"We are satisfied with the bidding results," said OMK President Vladimir Markin. "This evidences the fact that OMK has consolidated its position among the world's elite suppliers of high quality pipes."

Let us remind that OMK participated in supplying pipes for Nord Stream's first link. From May 2008 to November 2009, Vyksa Steel Works (VSW, Nizhni Novgorod Region), part of OMK, shipped more than 260 thousand tonnes of large-diameter pipes (LDP) designed for subsea gas pipelines meeting the international standard of Norway's Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and the additional requirements of the customer specification. For the first link of the gas pipeline, OMK manufactured a batch of x70 steel pipes of 41 mm in wall thickness. These pipes can withstand pressure of 220 atmospheres. The combination of these characteristics in one product is unique for pipes of this diameter and grade.

VSW started manufacturing LDP designed for subsea pipelines in 2006 and 2007 and obtained the certificate of conformity to the requirements of the DNV standard and the Nord Stream project specification. The Company became Russia's and CIS's first qualified producer of pipes according to DNV-OS-F101, which is the world's reference standard applied for the installation of oil and gas pipelines of enhanced quality, wear-resisting properties, and endurance on continental shelves throughout the world.