Baku. 17 June. REPORT.AZ/ ArcelorMittal is supplying over 75,000 tonnes of hot-rolled coils (HRC) for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). TAP, the construction of which will begin mid-2016, is the final European leg of the 3,500km Southern Gas Corridor and will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea to Europe, improving Europe’s energy security, Report informs.
The steel coils for the project are being produced at ArcelorMittal Bremen (Germany) and then shipped to the group’s partner Corinth Pipeworks in Greece, where the pipes are being produced. Deliveries of the hot rolled coils began in late 2015 and will continue until the first quarter of 2017.
ArcelorMittal Bremen was selected to produce the HRC because of the mill’s longstanding experience in pipeline steels. In 2011, ArcelorMittal Bremen installed the world’s largest heavy-duty crop shears on its hot rolling mill, enabling the site to produce heavy wall and super-heavy wall pipeline steels which meet the most stringent requirements.
The pipes used on the TAP lines have wall thicknesses of 18mm and must pass strict mechanical testing requirements and dimensional tolerances.
The steel used is an X70, high-end grade for pipeline applications. All the steel and the majority of the pipes will be produced in Europe.