TPi May 2014

7-11 April 2014

sections. The natural gas pipeline, which will link Russia and the European Union via the Black Sea, will start commercial operation by the end of 2015 with an annual capacity of around 15.75 billion cubic metres. Full capacity of around 63 billion cubic metres per annum will be achieved in late 2017 with three additional parallel pipelines.

The order includes pipe manufacturing, pipe coating, procurement of pipe bends, buckle arrestors and the concrete weight coating of a part of the pipes, as well as the transport to Bulgaria. Europipe will produce all 450,000 tonnes at its large-diameter pipe mill in Mülheim, Ruhr, Germany. The steel plates needed for the pipe production will be supplied by Europipe’s shareholders, AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke and Salzgitter Mannesmann GmbH. Under consideration of a tight delivery schedule, the two-shift production will take a large share of Europipe’s capacity for a period of more than 12 months, beginning in April. The contract includes 135 pipe bends, which Europipe will order from Salzgitter’s subsidiary, Salzgitter Mannesmann Grobblech GmbH. Orders for the supply of concrete weight coating of 148km pipe and 429 buckle arrestors (pipes that prevent buckling of the pipeline during pipe laying) will be awarded to subcontractors. The South Stream Pipeline System consists of one offshore and several onshore

Europipe GmbH Germany

4H42

Europipe GmbH has signed a contract with South Stream Transport BV for the supply of steel pipes for the construction of the South Stream Offshore Pipeline. Europipe will produce over 600km for the first string of a total of 931km. The route of the 813mm (32") OD offshore gas pipeline runs through the Black Sea in depths of up to 2,200m, from Anapa in Russia to Varna in Bulgaria. Europipe’s order includes 450,000 tonnes of pipe in accordance to DNV Offshore Standard DNV-OS-F101, Submarine Pipeline Systems 2010. The challenge is the high requirement concerning geometry (roundness). A good collapse resistance is indispensable for the security of the pipeline and the environment at external pressure of greater than 200 bar in 2,200m pipe laying depth. Almost all of the pipes will receive an internal lining with epoxy and an outside coating with polypropylene.

europipe@europipe.com www.europipe.com

GERO Germany

4H28

In Italy in 1977, large quantities of seamless steel tubes seemed to be unsalable. The owner of GERO Gelsenkirchener Rohrhandels bought the stock to sell in Germany, and was quickly able to sell more than 2,000t. That was the start of GERO in steel tube trading, and the company is now an internationally recognised specialist for seamless steel tubes. GERO was convinced from the beginning that marketing seamless steel tubes would

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March 2014 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL