The Gazprom Headquarters has hosted a Pipe Manufacturers Association session chaired by Valery Golubev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Head of the Association.

The session was attended by top management of the leading Russian pipe manufacturers and trading houses including TMK, Trade House TMK, United Metallurgical Company, Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant Group and Izhora Pipe Plant.

The session summed up the pipe industry highlights for 2006 and addressed the pipe procurement amount by Gazprom Group of companies over 2007 through 2012.

Delivering his report, Valery Golubev stressed that in order to execute gas pipeline construction and gas transmission system upgrading projects and programs Gazprom sets out to buy more pipes and related products fabricated at domestic plants. During January-December 2006 Gazprom received 920,000 t of pipe products, of which 76 per cent was supplied by Russian manufacturers.

V. Golubev emphasized that Gazprom was interested in acquiring pipes with improved operational characteristics, primarily for Yamal-Europe and Nord Stream lines. Pipes for these gas pipelines must be designed for a pressure of up to 120 and 250 ata, respectively.

The Pipe Manufacturers Association will continue further coordinating the efforts of Russian pipe fabricators and research institutions to produce high quality and competitive products for Gazprom’s needs.

The participants summed up pipe supply tender results for 2006, reviewed proposals on the preparation of tenders through 2013 and discussed logistics and payment method optimization issues with regard to pipe products.

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The Pipe Manufacturers Association was founded on February 26, 2004 by Gazkomplektimpex, TMK, United Metallurgical Company, Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant Group, Izhora Pipe Plant, VNIIGAZ, VNIIST, TsNIIChermet and NIIgazekonomika.