UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 6, 2016. Gazprom Chair of the Board Alexei Miller and Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (ChTPZ) shareholder and Member of the BOD Andrei Komarov signed a roadmap on a project for making new-generation pipes. According to ChTPZ Group’s press service, the paper was signed at the 6th Saint Petersburg International Gas Forum the other day.

Under the terms of the document, the plant is going to develop for Gazprom a number of technological solutions for making longitudinal welded large-diameter pipes from the regular as well as highly durable X80-X120 steels and pipeline fittings using laser beam welding. This is the first time laser welding will ever be used for making LDPs on a serial scale.

At the moment, pipes with the diameter of over 530mm only have to be made with the help of electric arc welding. Laser beam welding is expected to enhance the pipes’ strength and load-bearing capacity as well as improve the quality and corrosion resistance of welds. The new pipes will also increase the lifespan and reliability of pipelines, which is crucial for the pipelines constructed in harsh climatic conditions, for example, in the Arctic shelf or seismic areas.