Gazprom and TMK Deal on Innovative Pipe Solutions for Field Development
Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Dmitry Pumpyansky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TMK, discussed, during a work meeting, the state and prospects of their cooperation.
It was noted that over the course of 2020, amid the restrictions imposed to fight the spread of the coronavirus, pipes for Gazprom were produced and shipped in a timely manner.
Particular attention at the meeting was paid to TMK’s unique technological solutions, including import-substituting ones, developed in the interests of Gazprom. Among these solutions are premium-class pipe products – namely, pipes with high-tech threaded connections of the latest generation – that ensure the safety and efficiency of hydrocarbon production in extreme conditions. Batch production of these pipes was undertaken by TMK at the initiative of Gazprom under a special contract for the amounts equal to guaranteed future purchases. The pipes are currently in use at the Kovyktinskoye and Chayandinskoye fields.
Over the past five years, TMK has carried out comprehensive research, development, and engineering works, upgraded its production base, and started to manufacture more than ten new types of pipe products thanks to its cooperation with Gazprom. These products include import-substituting casing and pump & compressor pipes made of corrosion-resistant nickel-chromium alloys and 13Cr steel resistant to carbon dioxide corrosion. Both the pipes and pipe stock are being manufactured entirely in Russia for the first time in history. As a result, the company’s demand for premium-class pipe products has been fully met using the capacities of the domestic industry.
The parties pointed out that the mechanism of contracts for the amounts equal to guaranteed future purchases has once again proven its effectiveness. It allows Russian enterprises to expand the manufacture of their own high-quality products meeting the requirements of Gazprom within the framework of innovative activities.
Alexey Miller and Dmitry Pumpyansky also discussed the plans for further joint efforts between the companies. In order to develop Gazprom’s new fields, it is planned to manufacture products that have no equivalents in terms of their characteristics, such as pipes with quick couplings for offshore production, high-strength H2S-resistant pipes, and pipes with high-torque connections for building wells up to 15 kilometres in length.
