Russian gas company Gazprom plans for 2011 and for the three-year period to optimize transportation and logistics for the pipes delivery. The issued was discussed at a meeting, headed by CEO Alexei Miller, which was focused on pipe products cost optimization, the company’s press release said.
Gazprom said it had taken actions to optimize the pipe products purchasing cost by reducing the procurement of imported large-diameter pipes – from 48% to 5% through 2003-2009. It was noted that another way of cutting down of pipe cost is order placement deadlines. Early placement of pipe purchase orders within the Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas trunkline project allowed fixing the price that later on was lower than the similar product prices of 2010, the company said.
“Gazprom expands eastwards. The gas industry saw nearly no development here until recently and the infrastructure is to be created almost from the ground up. The scale of the forthcoming construction activity is tremendous. Therefore, the focus of our investment activity is moving to eastern regions of the country. To this regard, prime cost optimization – for pipes and logistics – is of crucial importance to us,” the company’s press service quoted Alexey Miller as saying.
Gazprom tasked its specialized subdivisions and subsidiaries to further optimize the pipe products cost. The product supply volumes are to be specified by Feb. 11, 2011 for the most important capital construction facilities in 2012-2013. This approach will contribute to signing long-term contracts between Gazprom and pipe producers in the future.
According to Gazprom, in 2009 centralized supplies of pipe products made up 884,000 tons, including 844,000 tons of large-diameter pipes with 1,325 and 1,277 million tons scheduled for 2010, accordingly.
Gazprom's major suppliers of pipe products are the United Metallurgical Company, the Pipe Metallurgical Company, Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant and Severstal.