Steel Mills

Evraz Idles Large OD Pipe Production, Lays Off Workers in Regina

Written by Laura Miller

June 17, 2022

Evraz North America is idling production of large-diameter pipe at its Regina, Saskatchewan, mill due to market conditions, resulting in the layoff of hundreds of Canadian employees.

Evraz

“Although our overall business is strong, including demand for our other steel products, the large-diameter pipe market has been soft,” a company spokeswoman told SMU in an email on Friday, June 17.

“Because the large-diameter pipe business is highly cyclical in nature, we have prioritized investments in R&D to better plan for and position our operations for the future. … We are hopeful new markets designed to transport hydrogen and CO2 for CCUS applications will offer a more consistent landscape for the large-diameter pipe fabrication operations and the jobs it supports,” she said.

CCUS is short for carbon capture, utilization and storage.

The layoffs of approximately 170 employees began in May, the spokeswoman said. Local media reports say the jobs of up to 300 employees may be affected, many of whom just returned to work in January. The company says it has offered displaced workers employment opportunities at its Calgary, Alberta, OCTG mill.

Evraz’s Regina mill makes not only large-diameter line pipe but also discrete plate and coiled plate as well as small diameter line pipe and OCTG. The mill operates two EAFs with a total capacity of approximately 1.2 million tons per year. It has the annual capacity to produce 500,000 tons of large-diameter pipe, 175,000 tons of line pipe, and 62,000 tons of OCTG tubing.

By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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