SAUDI Aramco has said that it plans to use 11,000km of line pipe in diameters up to 84in in the next five years. To meet this huge demand for line pipe, its materials supply department has signed 13 innovative manufacturing capacity agreements with leading Saudi manufacturers and vendors, in line with the organization's strategy to achieve best-in-class status and to streamline the materials supply chain. The plant capacity agreements were a first for Saudi Aramco, which will no longer compete for a share of the highly-competitive and volatile global market using traditional spot-bid methods. The 13 agreements allow Saudi Aramco to reserve plant capacity from selected mills in order to guarantee price, quantity, and optimum delivery terms to support the company's capital program and operational requirements. Global demand for pipe has caused pressure on supplies and has resulted in mills reaching their production capacities in order to keep pace. Ultimately, this leads to longer delivery periods, which could delay projects. For example, two or three years ago, pipe deliveries took six to eight months: they now average more than 12 months, depending on the suppliers. The five-year capacity agreements guarantee Saudi Aramco an uninterrupted supply of several kinds of seamless line pipe and structural pipe. The strategic agreements were organized into 42 groups for sizes and type of pipe to maximize mill participation and to include as many Saudi manufacturers as possible. Saudi manufacturers National Pipe Co, Arabian Pipes Co, Saudi Steel Pipes, and Group Five were awarded the majority of the supply contracts.