Sumitomo Corporation and Sumitomo Metal Industries Received Order for LNG Plant in Qatar

Sumitomo Corporation and Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. jointly received an order for large-diameter welded steel pipes from the consortium of Technip (France) and NPCC (UAE) for installation in an LNG project in Qatar. The pipes will be used to transport natural gas to the world's largest LNG plant in Qatar. The order is the largest ever received for large-diameter welded steel pipes to be installed in Qatar.

Background to the order
(1) The large-diameter welded steel pipes covered by the order are for a pipeline that is to run from the gas fields to the LNG plant in Qatar. Due to the large quantity of hydrogen sulfide found in the gas, the pipes require a higher level of resistance to corrosion than ordinary steel pipes.
(2) Sumitomo Metals possesses the industry's most advanced technology in the field of corrosion-resistant high-strength steel pipes. Sumitomo Metals and Sumitomo Corp. also jointly received orders for corrosion-resistant high-alloy steel well pipes for use in the same gas fields. Thanks to the above and the fact that these two companies are highly regarded in other similar projects, they were again successful in securing the subject order.

Outline of contract
(1) Products: Large-diameter welded steel pipes
(2) Quantity: Pipeline distance: 94 km of 34" O.D. line and 85 km of 38" O.D. line
(3) Delivery: Shipping is scheduled to start in February 2006.
(4) Purchaser: Joint venture between NPCC (National Petroleum Construction Company, the UAE)and Technip, France
(5) Contractual flow: NPCC/Technip --> Sumitomo Corp. --> Sumitomo Metals

Future prospects
Qatar's current LNG production is 20 million tons per year. Its production capacity is rapidly expanding and is expected to grow to approximately 80 million tons per year by 2010, making Qatar the world's largest LNG exporting country. Several large-scale natural gas development projects are waiting to be implemented. These projects involve a good demand for well pipes and line pipes. Well pipes and line pipes under bid and scheduled to be bid by the two Sumitomo companies for these projects amount to several hundred thousand tons.