OCTG
OCTG producers form trade association to promote domestic industry
Written by Laura Miller
November 29, 2023
Six US manufacturers of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) have come together to establish a Washington, D.C.-based trade association. The goals of the new US OCTG Manufacturers Association (USOMA) are to promote the interests of the domestic industry and to fight unfairly traded OCTG imports.
Tenaris, Vallourec Star, Borusan Pipe US, PTC Liberty Tubulars, Welded Tube US, and Axis Pipe and Tube are the founding members of USOMA. Together, the companies represent an estimated 75% of domestic OCTG production, with 19 facilities across nine states and a combined 7,500 employees.
Luca Zanotti, Tenaris US president, was elected to be USOMA’s first chairman.
“As American energy production is a matter of national security, we must promote and develop reliable, domestic supply chains, such as a world-class US OCTG industry,’ Zanotti said in a statement.
Imports account for about half of the US market, Zanotti said. Many foreign producers do not have their own local markets for OCTG. Thus, the US market is an attractive destination for their products.
“The US industry can replace these imports and create thousands of high-paying jobs in American OCTG plants and in the American steel plants that supply their hot rolled coils, while reducing the carbon footprint,” Zanotti added.
Veteran trade attorney Roger Schagrin of Schagrin Associates will serve as USOMA’s general counsel.
“Our goal is to level the playing field for the US OCTG industry and bring OCTG imports down to market shares aligned with basic steel products. At a time when US trade and climate policy is focusing on decarbonization, it is important that US OCTG manufacturers offer exploration and production companies domestically manufactured, reliable, low-GHG products,” Schagrin commented.
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in OCTG
September energy market update
In this Premium analysis we cover oil and natural gas prices, drilling rig activity, and crude oil stock levels in North America. Energy prices and rig counts are advance indicators of demand for oil country tubular goods (OCTG), line pipe, and other steel products.
Active rig counts dip in US and in Canada
US rig counts remain near multi-year lows, which is the territory they have been in for the last three months. Canadian counts have edged lower in the past two weeks, slipping from a six-month high earlier this month.
Rig count update: US count rebounds, Canada’s slips
Oil and gas drilling activity in the US recovered the week ended Sept. 13, but remains near multi-year lows.
Rig count update: US count dips, Canada flat
Oil and gas drilling activity in the US edged lower last week, while the Canadian rig count held steady at a six-month high.
Zekelman Industries buys 5% of Algoma Steel shares
Zekelman Industries has bought 5% of available shares of Canada’s Algoma Steel.