MEXICO CITY — Lázaro Cárdenas SA de CV, ArcelorMittal SA’s Mexican slab and flat steel subsidiary, has recently started producing slabs that will be used in pipelines transporting sour gas.

Such natural gas contains "significant quantities of toxic gases, such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide or similar contaminants," the company said.

The steel slabs must present very stringent technical specifications, including a high resistance against hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC).

"For this reason, best technological practices were implemented at Lázaro Cárdenas for the site to be able to produce defect-free slabs with a reduced center segregation rate in order to increase its share of the growing market for API (American Petroleum Institute) pipes," the company said.

After undergoing several tests, ArcelorMittal Mexico met all the requirements of its customers in this project, Indian tube manufacturer Welspun Corp. and Mexican coil plate producer Ternium SA, it said.

A version of this article was first published by AMM sister publication Steel First.