November 22, 2013. The 13th coordination council of Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (ChTPZ) and Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) took place at the premises of the former as part of the two parties' strategic cooperation on providing the oil and gas enterprises with good quality pipes. Special attention was paid to the two plants' joint participation in Gazprom's largest project, the Southern Stream, the two enterprises' press release says.

During the council meeting, the participants looked at ways of reducing the delivery time, increasing the quality of steel sheets, and expanding their product range. ChTPZ and MMK work regularly on mastering new kinds of produce; for one, they now make flat steel with strength grade X70 for Beineu-Bozoy-Shymkent pipeline, with strength grade X80 for the Central Asia-China/Section C pipeline, and with strength grade X52 for V.Filanovsky deposit.

'The year 2014 is not going to be easy, and we have to live through it together. The two companies' strategic partnership is a definite competitive advantage that must be relied on. Our joint plans are not only to retain but also to increase our share of the market. It is only together that we can move forward,' said MMK Director-General Boris Dubrovsky.