A $130-million shipment of Zhuhai-made steel tubes for natural gas transmission will be sent to Nigeria in West Africa by the end of this month.

The tubes weigh 5.2 tons and are more than 1 m (3 ft) in diameter and 12.2 m (39 ft) long. They are being produced by Chu Kong Steel Pipe (Zhuhai) in the Gaolan Port Economic Zone.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corp's Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Project placed the order for 304 km (189 miles) of natural gas pipeline, weighing altogether 140,000 tons, as well as for valve boxes and stations.

Pipeline tubes examined [Photo by Wang Shaojiang / Nanfangplus] 

Currently, 150 steel tubes, 1.8 km (1.1 miles) in total length, are being manufactured daily. They will be used as the sole artery carrying gas from resources in south Nigeria to consumers in northern part of the country. The line is to help ensure local energy security, economic development, and livelihoods.

Technology requirements are high since the pipeline will pass through railways, roads, marshes, the Niger (the largest inland river in Nigeria), and densely populated areas. All indexes are 50 percent higher than those for similar projects.

Chu Kong Steel Pipe (Zhuhai) was awarded the contract relying on advanced technology to produce 3.5 km (2.2 miles) of submarine oil and gas pipelines, according to Su Zhangzhuo, the company's executive deputy manager.

Founded in 2010, Chu Kong Steel Pipe (Zhuhai) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangzhou-based Chu Kong Steel Pipe Group. A major enterprise of the city's ocean engineering equipment manufacturing industry, it covers 660,000 sqm (163 acres) off Nanshui Avenue with a registered capital of 1 billion HKD ($129 million). The company produces submerged arc welding length (SAWL), submerged arc welding helix (SAWH), and high-frequency welding (HFW) steel pipes for deep-water subsea transmission pipelines with independent intellectual property rights.

Nigeria has the largest natural gas and second largest petroleum reserves in Africa. It is Africa's largest petroleum producer, the world's eighth largest petroleum exporter, and a member of OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.