DEVELOPMENTS AND PRESENT STATE OF SEAMLESS STEEL PIPE PRODUCTION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES（PARTⅣ）

Developments of steel pipe market and present state of tube billet and seamless tube production in foreign countries are described. The world steel pipe market does not show a good situation but the horizontal continuous casting technology for tube billets has been successfully developed. The seamless steel pipe production technology now has stepped to a new level through incorporating new type piercing mills into all kinds of roiling mills and developing shell wall thickness inspection under high temperature and multi-destructive inspection technology.