Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd has announced that it will push back until the end of this year the startup of its USD 1.6 billion pipe mill in Brazil, owned jointly with France-based Vallourec SA with regular shipments due to begin in mid 2011. According to Sumitomo, the plant, which will have crude steel capacity of 1 million tonnes per year was to start up in the middle of 2010 making 600,000tns of seamless pipes annually. The company aims to bring the mill to full production capacity in 2012. Sumitomo and Vallourec, which dominate about 40% of the world’s market for high end tubes for the oil and gas industry, each plans to sell half the pipes produced at the plant.