Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK)’s thick plate mill 5000 posted record output of 953,300 tonnes in 2015. The previous high was 943,400t in 2010, a year after the mill’s commissioning, Kallanish learns from the Russian steelmaker.

The mill produces high-margin thick plate with width of up to 4,850mm and strength of up to X120 used in the oil and gas industry, as well as ship and bridge building and machinery manufacturing. Plate is supplied to leading pipemakers for major projects being implemented by companies including Gazprom, Transneft and Lukoil. These projects include the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok, Bovanenkovo-Ukhta and Southern Corridor gas pipelines.

MMK recently said it expects the Russian domestic market to begin a recovery from mid-February, driven by stable export prices and the rouble devaluation (see Kallanish 27 January).

MMK’s overall crude steel output in 2015 decreased by -6.1% in comparison with 2014 to 12.2 million tonnes. Steelmaking capacity utilisation at its main Magnitogorsk works in 2015 was 84%. The steelmaker’s overall finished steel product shipments in 2015 dropped by -8% year-on-year to 11.2mt.