Gulf International Pipe Industry LLC (GIPI) dispatched its first load of high pressure carbon steel ERW pipes to its customer.
Hamdan al Shaqsym, CEO of GIPI said: "We see our first completed order as a major step forward for GIPI, allowing us to enter a new market segment. We forecast further growth in sales of this type of product and we see good prospects for strengthening GIPI's market position.”
GIPI aims to make the oil and gas sector in Oman self sufficient in carbon steel pipe, casing and other related services like internal and external coating for all pipe ranges. It opens up the window of opportunity for Oman to be an exporter of API standard pipes and casing to the GCC region and the world at large.
Following its official inauguration in March, GIPI has been receiving a large number of inquiries both from local and international potential clients, traders and distributors.
GIPI uses the high frequency electric resistance welding process to manufacture the carbon steel pipes ranging in nominal diameter from 8 inch to 24 inch and thickness of up to one inch in the phase 1 of the project. It also provides related services like internal and external coating for all pipe ranges, threading facilities for casing pipes, slitting services and in house laboratory services.

Turkish steelmaker Cemtas Celik Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret AS announced its operational and financial results for the Q1 10. Cemtas' sales revenue totaled TRL 37.32 million increasing by 94.8 percent while its profit amounted to TRL 324,550 compared to a loss of TRL 298,945 in Q1 2009.
For the period under review, Cemtas' steel billet output totaled 34,523 tons improving by 88 percent Y-o-Y while its rolled steel output rose by 82 percent Y-o-Y amounting to 29,951 tons. In the given period, Cemtas' total sales amounted to 31,000 tons climbing by 129.98 percent compared to the corresponding period of previous year. Of the total sales volume, 10,871 tons were shipped to the domestic market up 67 percent, while sales to foreign markets jumped by 164 percent reaching 20,129 tons both compared to Q1 2009. The share of export sales in the company's total sales came to 65 percent compared to 54 percent in Q1 2009.
Cemtas is specialised in the production of special grade steel, mainly for the automotive and machine manufacturing industries. The company has a melt shop with an annual capacity of 153,150 tons and a rolling mill with an annual capacity of 228,160 tons.

Imports of iron and steel products to Syria in 2009 reached 2.2 million tons (MT) versus only 2 MT in 2008, thus increasing by 12 percent Y-o-Y.
This have rendered Syria as the fifth among Arab countries in terms of steel imports accounting for around six percent of the overall Arab imports of iron and steel products in 2009 according to information from the London-based ISSB.
Syria's imports from the former Soviet Union republics account for 1.3 MT, which was 58.5 percent of its overall imports in 2009. In this regard, Ukraine comes first in terms of imports volume at 44 percent, followed by Russia at 13 percent.
Finished products, especially long products, account for 32 percent while semis account for 34 percent of the overall imports.
Syria kept its status in 2009 as one of the largest three Arab countries in terms of steel imports from former Soviet republics, Ukraine and Russia in particular. In 2009, three countries - Turkey, Ukraine and Russia - have been major iron and steel exporters to Arab countries. Meanwhile, exports from Turkey and Ukraine to Arab countries declined whereas Russian exports moved up by 31 percent, rising from 4.7 MT in 2008 to 6.2 MT in 2009.

Muharraq Municipal Council members have threatened to block the creation of a BHD 452 million steel plant in Bahrain amid concerns about its environmental impact.
According to a report, Council Technical Committee Chairman Ali Al Muqla said residents' complaints about pollution were continuously neglected in favor of industries. “Everyone knows that Hidd is overpopulated with factories and clouds of pollution can be seen by everyone and here we are obliged to rubber stamp on one more.”
He said that “Until today, no one knows what acceptable standards are and if the commission claims that they only recommend environment-friendly factories, then the clouds in the area must have been caused by aliens. I have asked that the project be initially blocked until we get a clear study on its environmental impact amongst other factories within the complex.”
Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife Environmental Assessment and Planning Directorate Director Zahwa Al Kuwari said pollution levels at Foulath's existing steel production complex in Hidd, where the new project would be built, did not exceed the permitted levels. She mentioned that the commission merely gave recommendations on whether the project would be environment friendly, with the final permits awarded by the Industry and Commerce Ministry and the municipality concerned.
The plant is being set up by the United Steel Company, a joint venture between Bahrain- based Gulf United Steel Holding Company Foulath and Japan's Yamato Kogyo Company. While Foulath is the Middle East's leading steel investment vehicle and holding company, Yamato is one of the world's leading global beams and structural sections producers.
It would be situated adjacent to GIIC's palletising plants and SULB's cold rolled stainless steel mill, both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Foulath.
The engineering procurement and construction contracts were recently bagged by Kobe Steel of Japan and MIDREX from the US, with the latter consisting of three companies SMS Meer and SMS Concast of Germany and Samsung Engineering of Korea.