Russian companies launch production of new high-tech goods for Gazprom’s projects

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, today held on the premises of Power Machines a meeting to address the ongoing and future cooperation between Gazprom and Russian metallurgical and engineering companies.

The meeting was attended by managers and experts from Gazprom’s structural units, United Metallurgical Company (OMK), Severstal, TMK, Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant (ChelPipe), and other companies, as well as representatives of the Pipe Producers Association.

It was highlighted that Russian companies had attained a high level of technological development and launched the production of new types of products, including pipes, thanks to their long-standing cooperation with Gazprom. In 2016, the share of Russian pipes in Gazprom’s procurements reached 100 per cent, skyrocketing from a mere 28 per cent in 2000.

Due to Gazprom’s demand for innovative pipe products, Russian industries face new challenges. Priority objectives include the product launches of special pipes for infield transportation of natural gas with high carbon dioxide content and pipes with a wide operating temperature range (from minus 60 to plus 350 degrees Celsius) for compressor stations.

The meeting participants gave special attention to improving the quality assurance mechanisms for goods supplied to Gazprom. At present, efforts are underway to advance the INTERGAZCERT voluntary certification system created by Gazprom.

The meeting also touched upon the batch production start of new power equipment, namely, import-substituting 630 kW and 1 MW generating units for modular power plants.

The meeting produced a number of instructions aimed at enhancing the cooperation between Gazprom and Russian pipe and engineering companies.

After the meeting, Alexey Miller and Andrey Komarov, Chairman of the ChelPipe Board of Directors, signed a long-term contract for the batch production, supply and maintenance of import-substituting products in the amount equal to guaranteed future purchases. The contract covers electric-welded longitudinal steel pipes and fittings for the Company’s offshore and overland (onshore) pipelines. The X65 and SAWL 450 I FD steel pipes with a diameter of 508 millimeters and a wall thickness of 20.6 to 24.9 millimeters will be used in the pre-development of the Kirinskoye and Yuzhno-Kirinskoye fields on the Sea of Okhotsk shelf.

Until recently, Russian companies did not make such pipes. For instance, the key infrastructure at the Kirinskoye field was built with Japanese pipe products. ChelPipe has already produced import-substituting pipes in a pilot-scale batch and conducted successful testing, with a view to start commercial deliveries in 2018.

Alexey Miller and Anatoly Sedykh, Chairman of the OMK Management Board, signed a Roadmap to launch the production of large-diameter pipes and fittings from plated steels. The document will help arrange for the manufacturing of new types of pipe products for the Russian gas industry. These pipes will have high corrosion resistance and strength and withstand a pressure of up to 32 MPa.

Metal plating for steels protects pipelines from CO2 corrosion which is particularly characteristic of oil and gas fields located in the Extreme North and offshore. The technology provides for using high-strength low-alloy steel to make pipe bases and high-alloy steel to make internal plating layers which ensure corrosion resistance. The main benefits of such pipelines are long service life (up to 40 years) and low operating costs thanks to eliminating the use of chemical corrosion inhibitors.

The implementation of the Roadmap will be financed by OMK. The first batch of plated steel pipes will be manufactured in 2019. Further on, plated steels will be used in the production of pipe fittings.

Also today, Alexey Miller granted INTERGAZCERT certificates to Volga Pipe Plant, Vyksa Steel Works, Izhora Pipe Mill, and ChelPipe, confirming the compliance of their quality management systems with Gazprom’s standards.

Alexey Miller, Alexey Mordashov, Chairman of the Severstal Board of Directors, Roman Filippov, Director General of Power Machines, and Christian Bruch, Member of the Linde Executive Board, took part in the ceremonial production launch of spiral heat exchangers to be used in the liquefaction and processing of natural gas. The heat exchangers will be made by a joint venture of Power Machines (part of Severstal) and Linde.

Spiral heat exchangers are the core equipment for cryogenic gas separation. Today, this unique equipment is made only by two companies in the world, one of which is Linde. Localization of the production of heat exchangers at the Power Machines industrial sites will facilitate the execution of Russia-based large-scale gas liquefaction and processing projects using equipment produced domestically.

The first batch of products manufactured by the Russian-German joint venture is scheduled for 2017 and intended for the Amur Gas Processing Plant, which is currently under construction.