TPT July 2011

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38 July 2011 ›
Industry News
GLOBAL pipe manufacturer TMK IPSCO
has broken ground on a new 51,000ft2
research and development centre in
Houston, Texas. The state-of-the-art facility
will serve as the heart of the company’s
innovation initiatives – new product
design and development, experimental
and validation testing, and advanced
metallurgical research. The research and
development centre will serve TMK IPSCO,
as well as the global operations of its parent
company, Moscow-based OAO TMK.
“This new facility is a testament both
to our commitment to innovation and to
our position of leadership in our industry,”
said Piotr Galitzine, chairman of TMK
IPSCO. “The work we do here will lead to
advancements in the production of pipe
and pipe connections, which are becoming
increasingly important as oil and gas
companies continue to expand into difficult,
unconventional drilling environments. Other
products are on the drawing board as well.”
The TMK IPSCO research and
development centre will bring in-house
much of the analysis, modelling and
testing work that is currently performed
by outside providers. The building will
feature a high bay testing area, a variety
of support laboratories, 27,000 square
feet of office space, and a two-and-a-half
story glass entry atrium at the centre
point. The facility is scheduled to open in
the autumn/fall of 2011.
Two high-tech connection testers rated
at four million pounds and two million
pounds of tension, respectively, will be
among the key pieces of equipment
installed at the new research centre.
Other key equipment will include a
scanning electron microscope (SEM),
a collapse tester, tensile and fatigue
testers and a corrosion testing lab,
among others. Other work would involve
simulation, modelling and analysis work
in the areas of alloy design, welding,
mechanical forming, connection integrity
and non-destructive testing.
In addition to connections testing,
TMK IPSCO’s research and development
centre will also work to improve the
quality of steelmaking itself, engaging in
a wide range of metallurgical research
involving both carbon- and micro-alloyed
steel.
“This is a very exciting endeavour for
TMK IPSCO,” said Prasenjit Adhikari,
the company’s chief technology officer.
“The research and development centre
puts our company at the cutting edge
of technology. Not only will we have
some of the world’s best equipment and
processes here, but we’ll have some of
the world’s top professionals in the fields
of engineering, science, manufacturing
and metallurgy.”
The centre will serve both TMK IPSCO
and OAO TMK, and will collaborate with
numerous organisations, including MIT,
the Russian Research Institute for the
Tube and Pipe Industries (RosNITI),
and several other top industrial forums,
research labs and universities.
TMK IPSCO – USA
Website:
TMK IPSCO breaks ground
on new research centre
CHELYABINSK Tube Rolling Plant of Russia
has announced its production results for Q1
of the current year. In Q1 ChTPZ’s steel
pipe sales increased to 488,000 tons up 45
per cent compared to 337,000 tons in Q1
2010. Its sales volumes of large diameter
pipes, OCTG and seamless industrial pipes
increased by 94 per cent, 26 per cent and
33 per cent respectively compared to Q1
2010.
The strong performance in sales volumes
of steel pipes and also of core products for
trunk pipeline systems arose due to an
ChTPZ steel pipe sales up
increase in demand from ChPTZ’s main oil
and gas customers, primarily Gazprom.
In 2010, ChPTZ launched its new large
diameter pipe mill, Vysota 239. In March
this year, Vysota 239 produced 52,000
tons of LD pipes. In Q1, the sales volume
from the new LD pipe shop totalled 131,000
tons including 114,000 tons shipped to
Gazprom’s Yamal Ukhta Torzhok pipeline
project.
ChTPZ – Russia
Website: