TMK (LSE: TMKS), one of the world’s largest oil and gas pipe producers, announces today that it began shipments of line pipe to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Under the terms of the agreement with CNPC, over 5,000 tonnes of line pipe were shipped in September 2008. Shipments consisted of 406mm OD line pipe with wall thickness of 12.5, 14.2 and 16mm.  The pipes were produced at Volzhsky Pipe Plant and designed for CNPC’s Longgang gas field in Sichuan Province.

In 2009, TMK expects to increase shipments of oil and gas pipes used in the development and production stages of CNPC’s field. The Longgang gas field project includes the development of 13 wells, the construction of 3 gas gathering stations and the laying of over 300 km of gas transmission lines.