Vallourec granted pre-salt steel tube supply deal in Brazil

French-based tube specialist Vallourec has signed a supply contract with UK-based firm TechnipFMC , the Paris-listed company said in a statement.

The agreement involves the supply of around 12,000t of seamless steel rigid line pipe with outside diameters 8" and 10", to be used in the fabrication of the riser and flowline system for interconnecting 13 wells to be installed in the pre-salt field MERO 1, Vallourec said.

Mero is an offshore oil and gas field in ultra-deep waters, with high quality carbonate reservoirs. Part of the Libra area, this field is rich in crude oil and natural gas.

Supply is set to start at end-2019, the statement said.

DEALS

In April last year, Vallourec signed new long-term supply contracts with state-run oil company Petrobras. The three-year agreements will involve the supply of seamless OCTG products and associated accessories.

Vallourec manufactures seamless hot rolled steel tubes. The company produces 3Mt/y at sites in Europe, Brazil, the US and China.

In Brazil, the company operates a firm called Vallourec Soluções Tubulares do Brasil, in which it holds an 84.6% stake while Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) has 15% and Sumitomo 0.4%. The French company also operates an iron ore mine in the country.