Essar Steel today said it has joined the league of the top plate mills

RELATED ARTICLES Essar's Ravi Ruia, Loop executives get bail in 2G case UAE working with India to boost trade and investment

of Japan and European Union by securing a USD 14 million contract from National Petroleum Construction Company, UAE, for building offshore platforms.

"Essar Steel has made a breakthrough in securing a prestigious order from National Petroleum Construction Company for building offshore platforms, thus becoming the first entity in India to join the league of top plate mills of Japan and European Union," the Ruias-owned firm said in a statement.

It said the order pertains to supply of API grade plates valued at USD 14 million (Rs 63 crore)for the hydrocarbon sector from National Petroleum Construction Company, UAE, and will be executed by July, 2011.

"Essar Steel is the first Indian steel company and only the sixth in the world to get approved for the use of the American Petroleum Institute (API) monogram on 2H, 2W and 2Y grades of steel plates," it added.

This approval will not only help the company serve the domestic market, but also open up opportunities to cater to international markets, including the Middle East and Europe.

National Petroleum Construction Company has won a major engineering, procurement and construction contract in India to build offshore platforms for ONGC at the offshore Mumbai High Field, the company said.

Essar claimed that it is the only steel mill in India which has developed API standard hi-tensile grades up to 63.5-mm for deep-sea offshore platform applications.

The company's plate mill, set up at a cost of about Rs 2,000 crore, has an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, capable of producing 5-metre wide plates conforming to global standards.

The firm earlier bagged an order from the Defence Ministry for supplying heavy duty steel plates for the Indian Navy's war and supply ships.

The plates find applications in diverse segments, including defence, oil and gas, boilers and pressure vessels, heavy duty earth-moving machines, wind towers, landmine-proof vehicles and construction.

Essar Steel is a fully integrated flat carbon steel manufacturer with a production capacity of 14 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) and has a presence in North America, Europe, Middle East and South East Asia, the UK, UAE and Indonesia.

It operates seven service centres in India, Indonesia, the UAE and UK with an aggregate capacity of over 4 million tonnes and claims to have the largest network distribution channel of Essar Hypermarts with over 625 retail distribution centres.