Interpipe starts pilot operations of new pipe finishing line

Ukraine’s largest pipe producer Interpipe (INPIP)
announced on July 3 that it has started pilot operations at a newly constructed
pipe finishing line at Interpipe Niko Tube, one of its two major Ukrainian
plants. The 93-kt-per-year line will increase Interpipe’s export capacity and
improve pipe quality, the company said, adding that its investments into the
line amounted to USD 8 mln.

Dmytro Khoroshun: We assume that this finishing line’s production is what Interpipe
plans to commercialize together with
Vallourec in Europe starting
in autumn 2018. We estimate that the new line might allow Interpipe to increase
the utilization rate of its seamless pipe capacity (1.14 mmt per year) to
60-65%, approximately.