OREANDA-NEWS.  From the time the installation of the North European Gas Pipeline (NEGP), which by 2010 is supposed to span the Gryazovets-Vyborg onshore section and then the Baltic Sea offshore section from Vyborg to Greifswald, Germany was started, Vyksa Steel Works, part of United Metallurgical Company (OMK), has been the only supplier of large-diameter longitudinal pipes.

According to the press service of OMK, at present, OMK has supplied 225,000 tonnes of 1,420-mm pipes, with external and internal coatings, designed for the pressure of 100 atmospheres. In Russia and the near abroad, OMK is the only manufacturer of large-diameter pipes with such characteristics.

Over the first year of the NEGP construction, 144 km, out of its 917-km onshore section, have been installed. Participating in the NEGP and other large-scale pipeline projects throughout Russia has made OMK Russia’s leading supplier of large-diameter pipes, whose production at Vyksa Steel Works for the 11 months of 2006 accounted for 730 thousand tonnes – a double increase YOY.

In addition, the participation in the North European Gas Pipeline project gave a great impetus to the innovative development of the VSW LDP production complex.

In 2007, VSW is supposed to launch the manufacture of large-diameter pipes designed for subsea pipeline systems according to the DNV standards, which are the world's reference standards applied by leading energy companies for the installation of oil and gas pipelines of enhanced quality, wear-resisting properties, and endurance in continental shelves throughout the world.

The DNV standards were adopted by Gazprom as operational standards for the development of the NEGP offshore section project documentation. OMK plans to supply LDP for not only the NEGP but also other Gazprom's projects related to the construction of subsea pipelines: Shtokman deposit, new facilities of the Blue Stream Project at the Black Sea, and subsea lines along the bed of the Baydaratskaya Bay.
 
At present, OMK is implementing a project related to the increase of designed capacity of its LDP production facilities. According to Chairman of the OMK Board of Directors Anatoly Sedykh, "In 2008, OMK will have the world's most unique LDP production complex with a capacity of 85 pipes an hour, which is equivalent to the annual production capacity of 2 million tonnes. This will be a highly concentrated production: all its lines will be located in one building, with the common infrastructure used. Due to this advantage, we will have the least costly pipe production in Russia, with a very high quality ensured at the same time."