A ceremony dedicated to the shipment of the first batch of large-diameter pipes for the construction of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was held in Chelyabinsk. Ceremony was attended by the governor of the Chelyabinsk Region Boris Dubrovsky.

The first 3,300 tonnes batch of pipes was produced by ChelPipe Group using steel made by OJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works ("MMK").

The event was attended by CEO of MMK Pavel Shilyaev, shareholders of ChelPipe Group Andrey
Komarov and Alexander Fyodorov, CEO of Nord Stream 2 AG (pipeline operator) Matthias Warnig, Chief Project Office of Nord Stream 2 Henning Kothe, CEO of ChelPipe Group Alexander Grubman. The first batch for Nord Stream 2 comprised of 1,153 mm diameter pipes of 30.9 mm wall thickness coated with anti-corrosive material both internally and externally. The pipes were manufactured at Vysota 239 (Altitude 239) production site using MMK’s metal. They will be delivered to Kotka (Finland) by rail by the end of September.

CEO of MMK Pavel Shilyaev said:
“MMK and ChelPipe share a longstanding history of partnership. Today we see our relationship as a strategic one. This is represented by the investments which both companies have recently made. These investments allowed both enterprises to achieve leading positions in high-tech production of large-diameter pipes and thus to take part in this project.”

Shareholder in ChelPipe Group, Co-Chairman of Fund for the Development of Pipe Industry of Russia Andrey Komarov said:
“Since early 2000s private investments into technological reequipment of Russian pipe and metal industries have exceeded 400 bln rubles. During this period a technological breakthrough occurred due to which Russia gained access to all production facilities required for implementation of land and underwater gas pipeline projects. The high quality of the domestic pipe production industry is further confirmed by the fact that the Russian pipe companies play a major role in one of the most complex global projects – Nord Stream 2 – in which the share of Russian pipes will reach 60%.”

Chief Project Office of Nord Stream 2 Henning Kothe said:
“All parties of the Nord Stream 2 project are focused on achieving the highest environmental, technical and safety standards. In order to participate in the project, ChelPipe completed certification of its large-diameter pipes in line with Det Norske Veritas standard. Furthermore, it carried out Nord Stream AG pre-qualification audit, which confirmed the high technological effectiveness and safety of the production process as well as the high professional level of the personnel.”

ChelPipe Group won a tender for large-diameter pipes shipments for Nord Stream 2 in March 2016. Under the contract, the company will supply approximately 600,000 tonnes of large-diameter pipes, including more than 80,000 tonnes by the end of 2016.

Nord Stream 2 pipeline will stretch across the Baltic Sea from Russia’s Baltic coast to the German coast near Greifswald. Design capacity of two lines will amount to 55 bln cu m per year with a minimum service life of 50 years.

Communications Department