business & market news
20
Tube Products International May 2013
Qualification of Saudi Arabia finishing plant
Tubular solutions company Vallourec
has announced the full qualification of
its new finishing plant in Saudi Arabia.
Located in Dammam, the unit is
dedicated to the heat treatment and
threading for the full range of VAM
®
premium connections, with an annual
capacity of 100,000 tons. It will mainly
supply Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom’s
national oil company, along with other
regional operators. With the qualification
of this plant, Vallourec is reinforcing its
presence in the Middle East, where
numerous oil and gas projects require
high added-value tubular solutions.
Resulting from the acquisition in 2011
of Saudi Seamless Pipes Factory
Company Limited, Zamil Pipes, the
finishing plant includes a heat treatment
unit, and a new threading unit and
coupling shop built by Vallourec.
It is now qualified to carry out all
operations required in the production
of premium connections using hollows
provided by Vallourec’s pipe mills.
The new plant is expected to generate
around 100 jobs, bringing the total
number of employees working there by
the end of 2013 to 200.
Didier Hornet, managing director
of Vallourec’s oil and gas activities,
commented, “The qualification of
our new upgraded finishing plant by
Saudi Aramco gives Vallourec a clear
competitive edge in the Kingdom and in
the Middle East, where the demand for
local content is increasing.
“This investment will enable us to
support local customers with the most
advanced premium products for their
growing gas projects, and with increased
services thanks to higher flexibility and
shorter delivery times.”
The new finishing plant has already
received an order for 20,000 tons of
premium connections.
Vallourec
– France
High pressure equipment for
Mozambique contract
Pipe Center is supplying specialist
pipes, fittings and valves for use in
mobile emergency response fire fighting
systems manufactured by Hawkes Fire.
In the latest contract, Pipe Center
supplied themanufacturer with Schedule
40 steel pipe, fittings and JET valves for
use in fire fighting, pump trailers, foam
proportioner systems, foam trailers and
storage systems for a petrochemical
plant in Mozambique.
Equipment for the contract, which
has been shipped, includes a foam
system container, two pump trailers and
associated fire fighting equipment. The
high pressure components and valves
control the flow of water within the foam
system, in order to generate the large
volumes required to deal with intense
petrochemical fires. The equipment is
being used to replace and upgrade
facilities at the plant.
In a second project, Pipe Center is
supplying pipe, valves and high pressure
couplings for use in two large fire fighting
pump trailer units for deployment at an
oil refinery in the Middle East.
Andy Hawkes, managing director
of Hawkes Fire, said, “We have a
long-standing relationship with Pipe
Center which goes back several
years. They are competitive and
give excellent service in terms of
stocking and technical support. We
pride ourselves in producing high
quality, proven equipment that can be
trusted to perform in the event of an
emergency. This in turn depends on the
components and materials we use in its
manufacture. Pipe Center is a trusted
supplier and we can rely on them to
deliver for us, so that we can deliver for
our own customers.”
Pipe Center
– UK
Hawkes Fire’s mobile fire fighting
equipment includes high pressure
components supplied by Pipe Center
