November 25, 2020

PAO Severstal, one of the world's largest vertically integrated steel and mining companies, has resumed deliveries to Alfapipe, a spiral welded steel pipe manufacturer based in Algeria. Severstal produced 26 thousand tons of X70 grade skelp steel coils to supply to Alfapipe.

X70 Grade Steel is one of the highest-strength steel grades, which enables it to retain its tough properties in harsh climates, for example at very low temperatures. These properties allow this grade of steel to be used for to construct high-pressure pipelines. To fulfil the exact requirements in terms of metal production and processing, strict adherence to technological parameters is required at all stages - from production to transportation.

The rolled metal was produced at HR Mill 2000, a part of Cherepovets Steel Mill ('CherMk' - part of the Severstal's Russian Steel Division). Opportunities for using new technologies as part of the optimization process have significantly expanded since the reconstruction of the laminar installation at HR Mill 2000. The investment project began in Autumn 2019, and involved replacing the former 1975 installation with a new generation of equipment, at a cost of RUB 2 billion. The modernization resulted in improvements to the cooling accuracy of the strip after hot rolling in the mill, which facilitated the obtainment of uniform mechanical properties along the length and width of metal products. This will also mitigate potential issues associated with metal processing in future pipe production. In addition, the new laminar cooling unit enables Severstal to obtain the key properties required for rolled metal, which previously could only be achieved with the help of additional alloying (consumption of ferroalloys) - also reducing the cost of production.

Employees of the Directorate for Technical Development and Quality at Severstal's Russian Steel Division, as well as employees at the flat-rolled product lines of CherMk, were involved in completing the order. Accounting for the capabilities of the new equipment, they accordingly adjusted the production technology used for X70 Grade Steel: in applying new technologies, specialists altered the microstructure of rolled products, achieving higher strength grades due to a significantly increased cooling rate.

Another requirement was ensuring tight thickness tolerances along the entire length of the coil, and the recent modernization of hydraulic pressure devices at HR Mill 2000 enabled Severstal to fulfil the new requirements for thickness tolerances.

Production and delivery of the rolled metal was carried out in batches over three months from July to September, in line with the request of the client.

Kirill Kiryushkin, senior manager for the Energy division at Severstal, commented:

'Severstal is placing emphasis on developing export routes to supply steel products to customers in the oil and gas industry. To this end, we are taking steps to improve both our production technologies and logistics delivery schemes, taking into account the specific requirements of our customers.'

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OAO Severstal published this content on 25 November 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 25 November 2020 13:30:04 UTC