OREANDA-NEWS. The United Metallurgical Company has won the contest for the supply of pipes for the construction of the first string of the sea division of the “South Stream” main pipeline. According to the contract signed by OMK and South StreamTransport B.V. on January 29, 2014, the company will produce over 300 km of LDPs for the project.

Pipes with a diameter of 813 mm and a wall thickness of 39 mm will be manufactured at Vyksa Steel Works from SAWL 450 steel in conformity with DNV-OS-F101 (2010) standard and South StreamTransport specifications. These pipes have been designed to be used at a depth of up to 2,250 meters, in areas of steep continental margins and deep submarine plain, in an environment enriched in hydrogen sulphide.

“To participate in the “South Stream” project, OMK has conducted significant preliminary work. We are happy to have the opportunity to use our rich experience in manufacturing products for the construction of submarine pipelines again. Participation in such a large scale project is one more achievement of the company which became possible due to the improvement of our personnel's skills and longstanding large investments into new technologies and production modernization,” said OMK President Vladimir Markin.

During recent years, OMK has produced and supplied pipes for a number of submarine gas and oil pipelines: the first and second strings of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, Baydaratskaya Bay, Dzhubga - Lazarevskoye - Sochi and Sakhalin - Khabarovsk - Vladivostok pipelines, as well as the Varandey oil terminal in the White Sea.

The “South Stream” main pipeline is supposed to provide a regular supply of Russian gas to European countries. The length of the sea division on the bottom of the Black Sea from Anapa to Bulgarian Varna is over 930 kilometers. In the future, there is a plan to construct up to four streams with an annual flow capacity of over 15 bln cubic meters each.