courtesy Rosneft

BP’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP has awarded Russian steekmaker TMK a contract to provide a range of pipe types worth some $2 billion over five years.

The deal supplants a similar $500-million arrangement that expires when 2007 does. The deal is said to be a “global supply deal”.

The Russian supplier’s “efficient and flexible order-mangement systems” were credited in a TNK-BP announcement.

It’s the largest contract “in the history of collaboration between Russian tubular manufacturers and oil and gas companies” the Russia-based oil company heralded.

TMK is the largest pipe maker in Russia with annual turnover of 3 million tonnes of pipes sold globally.