OCTG_11_BD

THE VALLOUREC & MANNESMANN TUBES MAGAZINE OIL & GAS DIVISION

Ap

ril

20

08

-N

o.1

1

30 years of VAM partnership30 years of VAM partnership

Vallo

ure

c G

rou

p

E D I T O R I A L

C O N T E N T

VAM PARTNERSHIP

P.04 - Vallourec and SumitomoMetals: Partnership standsthe test of time

P.06 - A History of Making Premium Connections across Cultures

P.08 - Vallourec and SumitomoMetals R&D engineerexchange program: Gabriel Briquet in the heart of the partnership

P.10 - VAM (Changzhou) Oil and GasPremium Equipment Co. Ltd:Hand in hand with Sumitomo

P.12 - VAM Field Service Beijing:Promoting VAM in China

P.13 - Vallourec & Sumitomo Tubosdo Brasil Ltda.: Two groupsjoin forces in ambitious project

P.15 - Vallourec and SumitomoMetals: 30 years of VAM partnership ceremony

PRODUCT APPLICATION

P.18 - V & M TUBES FacilitatesUpsurge in North Sea HP-HTActivity: Pushing Back theBoundaries

P.20 - Development of Smart HighPerformance: Drill Stem RotaryShouldered Connections

SERVICES

P.22 - VAM Field Service Angola:Right at the heart of Angola’soil industry

EVENTS

P.23 - V & M TUBES sponsored the10th edition of the ExpandableTechnology Forum

P.25 - SPOTLIGHTS

Publisher: VALLOUREC & MANNESMANN TUBES - 27, avenue du Général Leclerc, 92660 Boulogne Billancourt Cedex- France - Editorial Team: Hassna Belmalek - Phone: + 33 1 49 09 35 83 - E-mail: [email protected] - Sylvie Dubois-Decool - Phone: E-mail: [email protected] - Fax: + 33 1 49 09 37 13 - Production:Zabriskie., Paris - Design: LeGrand8., Paris - Photographs: Thierry Truck, V & M TUBES, VMOGUK, VAM USA, VAM Drilling, VAM Changzhou, VAM Field Service Beijing, HassnaBelmalek, V & M do Brasil, or as mentioned otherwise - All rights reserved.

www.vamser v ices .com - www.vamdr i l l i ng .com

VAM® is a registered Trademark of Vallourec Mannesmann Oil & Gas France

Vallourec’s business in the oil & gassector now accounts for almost halfof the Group’s income. This bringsgreat responsibility for our division- I have had the pleasure of head-ing since January 1st this year - butit also offers a fantastic opportunityto operate in an ever-changingworld. The challenge is to keep onestep ahead as markets changefaster and more unpredictably thanever before: consumption is growing

rapidly; raw materials are getting harder to come by, the numberof market stakeholders is shrinking and exchange rates are fluc-tuating wildly.At a time when oil prices are higher than ever, when the futureof the world's energy supplies is a cause for both concern andfor optimism, and when the environment is never far from thetop of the agenda, our Division is more determined than ever,not just to meet existing commitments but also to move forwardwith our customers as they face the multitude of new challengeswhich lie ahead. This determination can be seen in the unprece-

dented levels of investment now being made by our Group.Examples include the creation of VAM Drilling, the constructionof new manufacturing plants in China, the announcement of theacquisition of three companies from Grant Prideco, increases in steeland tube production capacity in Europe and the highly ambitiousproject for a new integrated tube mill in Brazil. This Brazilian project brings me to the partnership betweenVallourec and Sumitomo which is heavily featured in this issueof V & M REPORT. This partnership has now lasted for morethan thirty years and its sole purpose has been to develop theVAM family of products throughout the world. It has now reacheda new stage as the two groups come together in the Jaceabaproject which is due to come on stream in 2010. This is goodnews for our Division, as the bulk of the output of this massivecomplex will be reserved for the oil and gas market!Although these two large industrial groups work in partnership,each handles its own marketing activities. The reason why this relationship has lasted so well and so long is that it is basedon respect, trust and loyalty: values which we hope we will continue to share with all of our customers.

Pierre FrentzelOil & Gas Division Managing Director

V & M R E P O R T - O I L & G A S D I V I S I O N S P E C I A L I S S U E N R . 1 1 - A P R I L 2 0 0 84

V & M REPORT: What did Vallourec expectto gain from an arrangement of this kindwhen the original contract with Sumitomowas signed back in 1976? Alain Lancry: Our partnership hasnow lasted for three decades, and it allstarted when we concluded a licensingagreement with Sumitomo authori-zing them to produce and marketVAM connections developed byVallourec. Although our Group had not yet achieved its current interna-tional stature at that time, we were

already having high expectations onthis family of products. It seemed tous that the quickest and most effectiveway to succeed was to enlist the ser-vice of another company to promoteVAM products world-wide.

V & M REPORT: And what were Sumitomolooking for?Thierry Noël: We had finalized thedesign of the VAM technology around tenyears earlier and were well ahead of thefield. The licensing agreement savedSumitomo the time they needed to deve-lop a product to compete against us, andthey were very soon able to win a domi-nant position in the markets where theyoperated. The interests of both groupscoincided perfectly, and this clearly goesa long way to explain why the partnershiphas lasted so long.

V & M REPORT: How has this partnershipevolved over the years?Thierry Noël: Despite the fact thatVallourec holds the trademark for VAM,Sumitomo has always been ambitious interms of R&D. The two groups signed anagreement to work together on researchand development in 1985 - nine years afterthe original license contract. This arran-gement soon saw the birth of the VAMACE and NEW VAM range of conne-ctions. Then as now, the idea was to poolour human and material resources to deve-lop connections which deliver high addedvalue - known as premium connections.

Vallourec and Sumitomo Metals

Partnership stands the test ofThirty years of working together have taught Vallourec and Sumitomo

Metals to understand and respect each one’s methods. The two groups have

united their strengths with the single aim of developing business of VAM

family products throughout the world. We now look back on this solid and

enduring partnership with Alain Lancry, Marketing & Development Director,

and Thierry Noël, General Manager R & D Premium Connections.

V A M P A R T N E R S H I P

The ongoing relationship with ourJapanese counterparts has been a key fea-ture of my work in R&D since joiningVallourec in 1986. Alain Lancry: We strengthened ourties even more at that time with thejoint acquisition of a Houston-basedthreading company [Ed: 49% held bySumitomo, with Vallourec owning51%]. This initial joint-ownershipscheme did exactly what it was suppo-sed to do and gave VAM a foothold onthe American market. VAM USA isnow doing very well (see page 6).We then went on to buy stakes in PTCitra Tubindo in Indonesia and inVietubes in Vietnam. We have also est-ablished joint offices in Singapore andBeijing - and have just finished con-struction work at VAM Changzhou,our new threading plant in China!

V & M REPORT: What does each of thepartners bring to the R&D effort?Thierry Noël : We have been wor-king together in areas of common inte-rest right from the start of our R&Dagreement, and we always try to reacha consensus. This means that when weare looking at a new product, we needto reach agreement on things like geo-metry, morphology, dimensions andperformance requirements. French andJapanese teams are used to movingahead on a project at the same time,with regular reviews to examine pro-gress on development. This approachallows us to keep working towards thegoal we have set ourselves, while kee-ping a number of options open as tothe best way to get there. This methodhas been made even more effectiverecently through exchange visits byyoung engineers from the two com-panies' R&D departments (see page8). We are also in the process of settingup joint project teams.

Thierry Noël, General Manager R & D PremiumConnections.

The VAM connection is now over forty years old. It owes its name to V for Vallourec combined with the initials of AlexandreMadrelle, the head of the design team responsible for its creation. Back in the early sixties, the oil industry was looking for aconnection which exceeded the performance capabilities of the API connections in use at the time. The way forward came in aflash of inspiration in the shape of a tapered end which reinforces the contact pressure on the seal area. The more you tighten,the better the seal! This is the VAM effect - patented in 1965 and still the inspiration for the entire VAM family.

VAM: a forty-something which still creates a stir

V & M R E P O R T - O I L & G A S D I V I S I O N S P E C I A L I S S U E N R . 1 1 - A P R I L 2 0 0 8 5

V & M REPORT: What about customersatisfaction?Alain Lancry: Analysis of the require-ments of our respective customers givesus a much fuller picture of worlddemand and puts us in a position wherewe can design and develop the most sui-table products and this participates gre-atly to VAM customer satisfaction. Ourapproaches to longer-term develop-ments go together quite well as well.

V & M REPORT: How do the Sumitomoand Vallourec R&D teams keep in touchwith each other in practice?Thierry Noël: As well as the close con-tact we maintain at many levels duringthe course of joint development pro-jects, we also get together for our quar-terly three-day technical meetings, aswell as for the annual technical advi-sory committee session. The meetingsgenerally alternate between Japan andFrance, and are sometimes held in theUnited States as well - allowing us togo and see VAM USA and visit U.S.customers. Alain Lancry: With the large integra-ted tube mill project in Brazil, the new VAM Changzhou plant, exchangevisits between R&D engineers and - last but not least - the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of our part-nership - this year will have a distinctFranco-Japanese flavor for both of ourgroups!

V & M REPORT: How would you charac-terize this relationship?Thierry Noël: There's no denying thatour respective cultures are very diffe-rent. We have all had to respect eachother's way of doing things and acceptour differences to turn this potentialhandicap into something positive. TheFrench tend to take a conceptual appro-ach, while the Japanese are more hands-on. We make changes as we go along:our partners see things through to theend. We like to be challenged and attimes can be downright confrontatio-nal; they are looking for unity and har-mony. Neither of these two approachesis better than the other, and the com-bination of the best of each can be awe-somely effective!

V & M REPORT: How do you see this rela-tionship developing in the future?Alain Lancry: It's never easy to ima-gine what things are going to be like

more than a few years ahead, especiallywhen the future is so closely linked tothe oil and gas market. One thing whichis certain though, is that the days of theall-purpose connection are well andtruly over, and we are going to see moreand more specialized products to meetincreasingly difficult operating condi-tions. This means that the partnershipbetween Sumitomo and Vallourec stillholds a great deal of promise, particu-larly as R & D is concerned.We are now also involved in a large num-ber of joint projects, which will culmi-nate in the creation of a large ultra-modern industrial complex at Jeceaba inBrazil by 2010. This investment is wortharound 1.6 billion dollars and is testi-mony to the mutual trust, the sharedinterest and the enjoyment of workingtogether which enables our two greatcompanies to cooperate so closely.

time

Alain Lancry, Marketing & Development Director.

A History of Making Premium



F or the last twenty-three years,VAM USA, thanks to its em-ployees, has set up the VAM

standard in North America. American, French and Japanese teammembers support VAM growth inNorth America, promoting VAM pro-ducts to the leading oil and gas com-panies and providing technical salessupport. Their experience is furtherenhanced by the unique and excitingopportunity to develop an appreciationof each other’s cultures, strengths andcapabilities.

DIVERSITY MAKES FOR A RICH CULTURE“This company has long been seen as auniversity for talent from both Japanand France to brush up on their skillsand knowledge of the local market. Butit’s much more than that,” said GradyHarrison, President, VAM USA.Within the walls of this 50 ha. facilityin Houston, 225 team members—inclu-ding American, French, Japanese,Mexican, Brazilian, and others—are

And it was this sort of unique, multi-cultural experience that TakahiroTakano, R&D General Manager feltmade coming to VAM USA an excep-tional opportunity. “Working with myJapanese colleagues has helped me tobecome clearer, to explain things withgreater clarity, and to constantly refor-mulate,” admitted Dubedout. “VAMUSA has a unique culture that under-stands and respects those differencesand incorporates the best of bothworlds,” Harrison stated with pride.

PAST, PRESENT, FUTUREVAM USA is 51% Vallourec and 49%Sumitomo (34% Sumitomo Metals,15% Sumitomo Corp.) with an evenlysplit Board of Directors. It is the resultof a thirty-year partnership betweenFrench-owned Vallourec and Japanese-owned Sumitomo who saw the oppor-tunity to co-develop the world’s leadingpremium connections used in the mostextreme conditions. In 1984, they pur-

deepening their understanding of eachother. They are not just learning aboutobvious cultural differences, they arealso learning about how each approachand solve problems differently. Although the language barrier is thefirst challenge to overcome, the real funstarts when team members approachmaking decisions. They have totally dif-ferent decision-making processes. “TheFrench are more creative and are qui-cker to jump to conclusions. And theJapanese help us to make the right deci-sions, being disciplined in the way wemanage our projects,” observed LaurentDubedout, General Manager ofTechnical Services. Kenji Hanada, VicePresident of Strategic Marketingagreed, adding that generally speaking,“The Japanese want to have a completeplan beforehand. The French are the-oretical. They want to think throughthe theory. Americans are positive—justdo it attitude—and learn from the expe-rience. Every culture has their goodpoints that we can utilize.”

From left to right: Grady Harrison,

Kenji Hanada,Laurent Dubedout,Franck Montalvan,

Takahiro Takano.

Connections across Cultures


In just over four years, VAM USA has doubled its revenues. This is expec-ted to double again once the acquisi-tion of Atlas Bradford is completed later this year (VAM USA is waiting forclearance from the Department ofJustice). At the same time, VAM USArecently invested in additional threa-ding capacity in order to increase VAM’sfootprint in the U.S. and will be acti-vely promoting their premium T&Cproducts as well as the new HighTorque product lines. And they have settheir sights on becoming the leader inintegral connections in the NorthAmerican market. VAM USA remains a shining exampleof the adage that the whole is greaterthan the sum of its parts. “Despite ourdifferences culturally and in our workstyles, we share the same ultimate goalof supporting our customer,” Hanadapointed out. Harrison agreed, “Thisshared goal—along with our similarvalues of providing total qualitymanagement, and the passion to come

chased OTIS PTS, a company licensedto thread VAM joints. This allowedboth companies to consolidate a U.S.presence, which they called VAM PTS. At first, VAM PTS helped both com-panies to establish a “technical embassy”(as Harrison put it) near their oil andgas customers headquartered in thearea. With Houston at the heart of theglobal OCTG market and with threa-ding at the center of OCTG, VAMUSA’s engineers and managers enjoyunprecedented access to the world’smajor oil & gas decision makers andR&D personnel. This proximity to customers—to bet-ter understand and anticipate theirneeds—is one of VAM USA’s four majorstrategic initiatives, along with conti-nued growth, increased competitive-ness and innovation in premium pro-ducts and services. Over the last four orfive years, the focus has shifted frommaintaining a presence with their cus-tomers to bolstering the other threemajor strategic initiatives.

up with the best engineering solution—is at the heart of the rich VAM USA culture and our continued success.”

VAM USA Inspector.

New Line 5, capable to thread from 9 5/8” to 20” in VAM USA.

Vallourec and Sumitomo Metals R&D engineer exchange program

Gabriel Briquet in the heart of the


G abriel Briquet developed a pas-sion for all things Japanese whenhe was a teenager. He was enth-

ralled by the country's way of life andits language. He even enrolled in eve-ning classes to learn Japanese when hewas a student and managed to take atwo-month internship in the land ofthe rising sun. He joined the VallourecGroup as an R&D Project Manager forVAM connections in 2004 after gradu-ating from the prestigious Ecole desMines engineering college. He startedat the R&D center at Aulnoye in thenorth of France and worked closelywith his counterparts in Japan underthe R &D partnership agreement bet-ween Sumitomo Metals and Vallourec.Two years into his career, he was offe-red the chance to join the thousand orso employees at the Sumitomo MetalsR&D center in Osaka.

ENGINEER AND FACILITATOR"I have been busy working on develo-ping new VAM products since I arri-ved in Japan in October 2006," Gabrielexplained. "This is what I was doing inFrance earlier as an R&D engineer, but

my job now has an added dimension asmy duties include making sure that eve-rything runs smoothly in the Vallourecand Sumitomo Metals R&D partners-hip. First and foremost, I have to makesure that the two R&D teams under-stand each other properly as informa-tion is passed between them. As well asbeing an interface, I also have toobserve and report back on how theydo things in Japan to ensure that wework together even more effectively

and prepare the way for French engi-neers who will be coming over to Osakain the future. This aspect of my workis absolutely fascinating and I am lear-ning all the time. I give an account ofmy findings in a field report. One ofthe things I have noticed is that theJapanese appreciate it when theirFrench counterparts speak to themslowly in English and pronounce eachword clearly. It may not be what you'dexpect, but they prefer you to make an


Gabriel Briquet is a pioneer. This young graduate of France's Ecole des Mines

de Nancy joined Vallourec in February 2005 and is the first French R&D engineer

specializing in VAM connections to join the Sumitomo Metals R&D department

in Japan. The move is a tangible sign of the strengthening partnership between

the two groups.

Gabriel Briquet and Suguru Yamaguchi.

29-year-old Suguru Yamaguchi has been with Sumitomo Metals for almost five years now and is eagerly looking forward to joining the VallourecR&D team. This young mechanical engineer will pack his bags for France inApril to join the powerhouse of talent working on VAM connections atAulnoye (North of France). His role will be similar to the one played byGabriel Briquet in Japan (see opposite): he will contribute to the developmentof products, iron out wrinkles in the working relationship between theSumitomo Metals and Vallourec R&D teams and learn about the way theFrench work first-hand. This will enable him to help Japanese colleagues whowill be coming over to France later under the engineer exchange program runby the two groups. "I've only been to France once before," he told us. "Thatwas just for a technical meeting. This time though, I'm expecting the exchangescheme to help me develop both professionally and as a person. I've been ableto work with Gabriel Briquet, and he's told me a lot about his country.I can't wait to get there, but I can't promise that I'm going to eat any rabbits,frogs or snails!"

Suguru Yamaguchi is eager to see France

partnership


effort to get your message across rather than display mastery of the lang-uage of Shakespeare."

GETTING ON WITH PEOPLEGabriel has long understood that linemanagement is more powerful in Japanthan in France and that decisions pas-sed down are not open to question. Herespects the people he works with andthey respect him, and he has also est-ablished friendships with colleagues

outside the workplace. Although thefact that he speaks the language goes along way to helping him fit in, he neverforgets the social niceties which cansometimes elude people from the West,like tokens of respect, interpretingunspoken words, a certain modesty anda desire not to contradict others. Hewill no doubt explain all these socialniceties to his colleagues at the AulnoyeR&D center when he returns to Franceat the end of March.

Western countries and Japan sharemany rules of etiquette because theyare a matter of basic courtesy–inother words, good sense. However,Japanese society is characterized bystrict observance of these preceptsand a host of specifics inherent in itsculture.

In general, self-control and a sense ofpropriety are expected. Here are someadditional rules of conduct:• Do not put soy sauce on white rice.• Making noise while eating

noodles is acceptable and evenrecommended.

• There is no tipping in Japan.• Do not look people in the eye in

public.• Do not open a gift in the presence of

the gift-giver. • Offer and accept gifts with both

hands.• In conversation, allow time for pauses

so the other person can think abouthis or her response.

• Do not put someone on the spot, particularly in public.

• Do not make categorical refusals.• Do not gesture with your hands while

speaking. • Avoid blowing your nose in public,

especially at a restaurant. If you mustblow your nose, cover your nose withyour hand, or excuse yourself and goto the restroom.

• Do not kiss people when you greetthem and limit physical contact to ahandshake.

• Remove your shoes in homes andrestaurants and put on slippers.

• A simple bow of the head is preferable to an awkward imitation ofthe Japanese bow.

• Do not use your chopsticks to eatdirectly from a shared dish, but transfer the food to your bowlfirst.

• Always bring candy for your colleagues when you return from a trip.

* The most polite way to say thank you in Japanese.

Dômo arigatôgozaimasu*

*

*Welcome


P aul Bounie wasclearly moved bythe tributes paid

to him at the ceremonyheld to inaugurate theVAM Changzhou planton November 8. AsProject Manager, he hadthe task of delivering thenew production facilityto the V & M TUBESOil & Gas Division within an extremelytight schedule, and deserves our heartiestcongra-tulations for meeting the dead-line. With the job done, he presentedan ancient Chinese padlock to VAMChangzhou's General Manager, EricAtton, to symbolize the handover of theplant.VAM Changzhou is jointly owned byVallourec (51%) and Sumitomo (49%),and has all the equipment needed to pro-duce high-value-added VAM connec-

tions in sizes ranging from 5-1/2 to 13-3/8 inches. Thus, the plant can manu-facture VAM TOP products, and the listalso includes VAM FJL, VAM SLIJ II,DINO VAM, VAM HW and even VAMMUST connections. The joint-venture is designed to streng-then the positions of both groups on theChinese market and to meet the gro-wing needs of both state-owned corpo-rations like CNPC/PetroChina (for theSichuan and Tarim fields), Sinopec andCNOOC - as well as foreign companies- as the country's economy expands. Asfar as Vallourec is concerned, this newenterprise will also free up capacity atthe Group's European sites.

NO PLANT YET, BUT ALREADYTAKING ORDERS"We produced our first threaded tube atthe beginning of October 2007," EricAtton explained. "It was especially criti-cal for us to keep to the schedule becauseit had been decided, well before con-struction had been completed, that thenew plant should take on a number of

Construction started in November 2006

and the first threaded tube came off the

line in October 2007. It took the VAM

Changzhou plant slightly less than a year

to go from the time the diggers arrived

through to commissioning! Vallourec

and Sumitomo hold 51% and 49% of the

new company's capital respectively, and

the investment will place both partners

in a stronger position on the Chinese oil

and gas market

VAM (Changzhou) Oil and Gas Premium

Hand in hand with


From left to right: Shinichi Sasaki (Sumitomo Corp. Shanghai),

Eric Atton (VAM Changzhou), Sam Eguchi (Sumitomo Metal Industries),

Jean-Yves Le Cuziat (Formerly Division Oil & Gas) and Philippe Emery (OCTG Europe).

Paul Bounie


orders for material which was originallyto be produced in Europe. With the helpof 150 sub-contractors – including morethan 100 Chinese firms – we managed todeliver an initial shipment of 700 metrictons of VAM TOP 7” to PetroChina ontime, starting on November 19th, 2007."We obviously needed the customer'sapproval to transfer this work to VAMChangzhou, and there were no objections- provided that product availability wasmaintained, and that the quality was equi-valent to – or better than – the standardprovided by other V & M TUBES plantsin other parts of the world.To give credit where it is due, theGroup's other plants played a major partin bringing VAM Changzhou into beingand in getting the Chinese operatorsready. Some key employees, like threa-ding machine operators, shift supervi-sors and quality managers, were sent toGermany and France for training. The plant has been in a position to fillfirm orders since the end of 2007, andthe order book for 2008 is already fil-ling up fast.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

Together with the announcement of themassive joint project to build an inte-grated tube mill in Brazil, the commis-sioning of the VAM Changzhou facilitycoincides with the thirtieth anniversaryof the partnership between Vallourecand Sumitomo Metals. They could nothave wished for a better present. Havinga new production facility which canmanufacture premium products to meetthe specific requirements of Chinesewells gives both groups an excellentchance to maintain and develop theirpositions in this fast-growing market.“The VAM Changzhou team will sooninclude people from Japan, and the newcompany will be able to draw on the skilland experience possessed by its two stoc-kholders,” Eric Atton remarked. “Therecent inauguration ceremony attendedby representatives from the Chineseauthorities, Vallourec and Sumitomomarked the completion of a successfulproject – and the beginning of a greatadventure.”

Equipment Co. Ltd

Sumitomo

April 2006: VAM Changzhou project launchedJuly 2006: Land purchasedSeptember 2006: Business license obtainedNovember 2006: Construction work beginsFebruary 2007: Earthworks completedAugust 2007: Equipment acceptanceOctober 5, 2007: First tube producedOctober 8, 2007: Official inauguration of the plantNovember 19, 2007: First shipment of products

Key dates

Floor area: 65,000 sq. metersCovered floor space: 17,600 sq. metersEmployees: 180 (end 2008)Range of products: VAM connections in sizes

from 5-1/2 to 13-3/8 inchesProduction capacity: 50,000 metric tonsEquipment: casing threading/finishing line

and couplings shop

Key figures

VSFB Engineer (Mr. Zhang Wen Yu) inspectinga VAM TOP connection.

VAM Field Service Beijing

Promoting VAM in China

33-year-old Damien de Montlebert hasalready gained a great deal of expe-rience in VAM products in a careerwhich has taken him from Scotland toFrance, then back to Scotland againbefore moving to China in January2007. His role as VAM Field ServiceBeijing's General Manager is to get thecenter up and running, and developVFSB's business.The main function of VAM FieldService International's field serviceengineers is to provide assistance tousers of VAM products at the rig site.This mainly means checking that eve-rything is done according to recom-mendations before, during and after

the process of making up the conne-ctions. They examine the condition ofthreads, make sure that the rightamount and the right type of grease isapplied, ensure that suitable equipmentis used in the correct way, specify tigh-tening torque values, interpret data,come up with solutions if problemsoccur, and so on.

MORE THAN JUST FIELD SERVICES"This is where VAM Field ServiceBeijing stands out from most of theother companies operating in this busi-ness," Damien de Montlebert told us."Although assistance on site willaccount for a large part of our worklater on, both Vallourec and Sumitomowere particularly eager to use this joint-venture to establish a technical centerto showcase VAM products in China.Our job is also to handle technical salespromotion and we can offer customershelp in selecting the most suitable VAMconnection solution for the characte-ristics of their wells. We also inspecttubes on delivery to comply with con-tractual requirements imposed on ourcustomers by the large state-ownedcompanies. This part of our business isa special feature of the Chinese marketand accounts for a significant part of

our income. We act as sub-contractorsfor Vallourec or Sumitomo and per-form the inspections using the sametesting equipment as at the productionsite. On top of this, our job includesproviding technical support to the gro-wing number of VAM licensees inChina."China is developing rapidly, but the useof premium connections is less wide-spread than elsewhere in the world.The creation of VFSB is a truly deter-mination of the two groups to increaseits VAM presence in China.

The VAM Field Service International network now extends

its reach even further with the arrival of VAM Field Service

Beijing (VFSB). VFSB opened for business on January 1st,

2007, and its team of eight engineers has since been devo-

ting all its efforts to customer support and the promotion of

VAM products in China. The center is the first of its kind in

the country, and also has the distinction of being a joint-

venture between Vallourec (51%), Sumitomo Metals

(36.75%) and the Sumitomo Corporation (12.25%).



Damien deMontlebert.


“T here are more than forty people now working almostfull-time on Vallourec &

Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil Ltda,"explains Christoph Prasser, the ProjectDirector appointed by Vallourec. "Themembers of the VSB project team comefrom three continents, Asia (Japan), TheAmericas (Brazil), and Europe (Franceand Germany). There must now beseveral hundred people already invol-ved in the construction of this new inte-grated tube mill. The challenge is to getthe mill running in Brazil despite anydifferences of national or company cul-tures"Frédéric Arnou, who is responsible formonitoring legal, financial and fiscalaspects of VSB on behalf of Vallourec,told us that "one of our colleagues atSumitomo has dubbed this project "555"- pronounced "gogogo" in Japanese".This reflects both the size of this 1.6 bil-lion dollar project as well as the enthu-siasm it is generating among both partsof the project team.

GREAT VERSATILITYThis state-of-the-art complex is tomake steel using liquid pig iron, chie-fly due to the nearby availability of theraw materials needed: iron ore andcharcoal. The site is 65 km from thePau Branco mine operated by V & MMineração. V & M Florestal has huge

eucalyptus forests in the North andNorth-Eastern parts of Minas Geraisstate which produce the wood used tomake charcoal . "What makes the steel-works so special though," stressedChristoph Prasser, "is that the site hasan electric arc furnace which will be fedwith both liquid pig iron and scrapfrom our own sources."The plant will have the capacity to pro-duce a million metric tons of raw steela year in the form of billets. 700,000metric tons of this will go to the tuberolling mill, with the rest being usedby Vallourec to reduce dependency onexternal sources of supply.

FOCUS ON OCTG PRODUCTSThe standard SMS-Meer PremiumQuality Finishing (PQF) rolling millwill offer a total capacity of 600,000

Vallourec & Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil Ltda.

Two groups join forces in ambitious projectThe foundation stone of the Jeceaba integrated tube

mill was laid on 07/07/07 (July 7, 2007). The new Brazilian

facility is being jointly built by Vallourec and Sumitomo,

and project directors Christoph Prasser and Hisashi

Nakagawa and project leader Otavio Sanabio have less

than three years to get this ambitious production complex

up and running.

Christoph Prasser

Frédéric Arnou

Pierre Verluca, Chairman of Vallourec’sManagement Board, and Hiroshi Tomono,President of Sumitomo Metals, signed the

Vallourec & Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil Ltdajoint-venture contract on July 19.


metric tons of seamless tube a year,with Vallourec and Sumitomo havingan equal share of 300,000 metric tonseach. "The two partners will bothremain in full control of their ownmarketing activities," Frédéric Arnoutold us. "This will mean 10% moretubes a year for Vallourec, and around30% for Sumitomo."The heat treatment lines will haveplenty of capacity to allow a large pro-portion of production to be devotedto the oil and gas market to meet gro-wing demand for premium products.The mill will specialize in seamlessOCTG tubulars and will also have theCNC lathes needed to machine andthread VAM® connections. Sizes willrange from 6-5/8" to 16" in diameter.The mill will also have a robotizedstock control system using tags to pro-vide full traceability for each tube as itpasses through the various stages ofthe production process.

AHEAD OF THE FIELDThis new company will eventually havearound 1,500 employees, and the two

partners expect that the joint venturewill enable them to anticipate futuremarket changes. In line with many ana-lysts, both groups are banking on con-tinued growth and increased world-wide demand for seamless tubes.Vallourec's production sites are nowworking flat out, and the Group needsto acquire additional capacity to main-tain its position as market leader - par-ticularly for premium products andtubes for the energy sector. Fallingbehind is not an option.Jeceaba enjoys good road and rail linksand has access to the deep-water portat Sepetiba to the South. Supply ofelectric energy and a gas pipe line arenearby. Naturally enough, the newintegrated tube mill will export pro-ducts to North America, the MiddleEast and Africa.

V & M FLORESTAL

V & M do BRASIL

V & M MINERAÇÃO

Vallourec & Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil

Railway

SepetibaPort

Jeceaba

Barreiro

Pau Branco

Rio de Janeiro


The ceremony took place on July 7 (an auspicious day as the number seven is considered to be a lucky number in Japanese culture), and was attended by executives from Vallourec and Sumitomo Metals, as well as Brazilian officials. On this special occasion, a seamless tube was used to symbolize the first foundation stone.

•••


30 years of innovation

30 years of success

On October 11th, 2007 at the Group's headquarters, Managers from both companies

celebrated the 30-year partnership.



VAM first patent

05/11/1965

Signature of the VAM License Agreement

06/02/1976

Patent VAM FJL

1976

Renewal of theVAM License Agreement

1994

Patent VAM SLIJ II and DINO VAM

1995

Patent CLEANWELL

2000

Creation of VAM Field Service Beijing (51% V & M TUBES – 36.75% SumitomoMetals – 12.25% Sumitomo Corp.)

02/08/2006

Opening capital of VAM Changzhou to Sumitomo

28/03/2007

Vallourec and Sumitomo lay the cornerstone of the Jeceaba Plant, the new pipe plant in Brazil

07/07/2007

Creation of VAM FAR EAST (51% V & M TUBES – 49% Sumitomo)

1993

First stone laying ceremony of the newChinese threading plantVAM Changzhou

21/11/2006

Kainan plant

17

Signature of the VAM USAPartnership Agreement / Creation of VAM USA(51% V & M TUBES – 49% Sumitomo)

27/08/1984

Signature of the R&D agreement (renewal in 1995 and 2005)

11/04/1985

PT Citra Tubindo SubcontractingAgreement

10/11/1986

Patent VAM TOP

1990

Celebrating 25 years of VAM partnership

2002

Acquisition of V & M STAR

27/05/2002

Celebrating 20 years anniversary of VAM USA

10/02/2005

Aulnoye testing facility extension inauguration

27/04/2006

New Pipe mill in Brazil: Vallourec and Sumitomo Metals sign the joint venture agreement of the new pipe mill in Brazil

TEC: technical meetingTAC: technical advisory

committee

19/07/2007 30 years of TEC and TAC Meeting

And tomorrow:

...


V & M TUBES Facilitates Upsurge in North Sea HP-HT Activity

Pushing Back the Boundaries


T his project requires casing andconnections that provide a newlevel of performance using the

latest generation of gas-tight, metal-to-metal seal VAM connections. One of the key requirements of both theconnections and the materials is to mini-mise, as far as possible, the risk profileof the well. This is achieved throughapplying advanced design methods, per-forming rigorous qualification tests andensuring the products are manufactu-red with the highest possible levels ofquality assurance. To further ensure thatoperational risks are mitigated, VallourecMannesmann Oil & Gas UK (VMOGUK) provides supervisory services forboth onshore and offshore activities.

DESIGN INVOLVEMENTVMOG UK has been involved with theproject from the initial conceptualdesigns, which were based on tried-and-tested HP-HT connections (VAM HW-ST). As the full scale of the challengesthrown up by the well conditions was rea-lised, later generation connections werechosen to complement the extremelyheavy-wall pipe. The connections requi-red to satisfy the need for higher com-pression, higher external pressure andgreater clearance than the existingdesigns. The solutions included the dual-sealVAM HP for use on both 10-3/4” 110.4lb/ft VM110SS production casing and 7-5/8” 55.3 lb/ft VM110SS contingencytie-back casing strings. In addition to thenew weights of VAM HP, a heavy-weightversion of the VAM TOP HC was desi-gned for use on 7” 42.7 lb/ft VM125CYproduction liner. All of these connectionsrequired bespoke engineering designwork.All new connection designs were evalu-ated through state-of-the-art computa-tional analysis using V & M TUBES’preferred Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

P R O D U C T A P P L I C A T I O N

V & M TUBES, Oil & Gas Division, has engineered, tested and manu-

factured all of the casing for the North Sea’s highest pressure well, to

date. The well spudded in October 2007 and will set a new milestone

in High Pressure-High Temperature development in the region, when

completed in February 2008.

Jackdaw Well Schematic.


software (see Figure 1), before embar-king on full ISO 13679 physical qualifi-cation tests, where required.

CONNECTION TESTINGOnce the new connections had beendeveloped, a substantial programme ofphysical testing was commissioned.There are a only a limited number oftest facilities in the world that are equip-ped to perform OCTG connectiontests, so the initial challenge was to pro-ject manage the six ISO 13679 qualifi-cation tests, in a timely fashion. Withtime-scales of approximately two tothree months each, inter-continentalcollaboration with sub-contractors inScotland and the USA, as well as V & MTUBES’ facilities in France andHouston, was required to successfullycomplete the connection testing.The reduced number of samples onthree of the tests (see table) is indica-tive of the extensive qualification testdata that already existed.

ADVANCEDMANUFACTURINGTECHNIQUESHP-HT products often need complexmanufacturing techniques. Most of theconnections require special surfacefinish or end-sizing, and the pipe is offe-red with tighter tolerance on the wallthickness (a minimum of 90% nomi-nal) or yield (VM125CY) and corrosiontesting (VM110SS).Most notably, the 3-1/2” work-stringis a completely non-standard product.The complex heat treatment ofVM110SS needed to be adapted for thissmall OD but heavy-wall product.

CONTINUING TECHNICAL SUPPORTFollowing delivery of the casing andtubing, V & M TUBES is continuing

to support this project through analy-ses of casing hangers, equipment logis-tics and offshore running. VMOG UK has an enviable trackrecord with regards to HP-HT wells,having supplied casing and tubing forTotal’s Elgin-Franklin project andShell’s Shearwater, Aragorn and Onyx

projects, to name but a handful. Inaddition to this well, the company hasa further eleven HP-HT wells on itsorder books for imminent delivery. V & M TUBES is proud of its invol-vement in these projects and is keen tofurther enhance its long-standing HP-HT experience.

Connection Qualification Test

13-5/8” 88.2 lb/ft VAM TOP-NA FEA Extrapolation

10-3/4” 110.2 lb/ft VAM HP FEA Extrapolation

9-7/8” 66.9 lb/ft VAM TOP-NA ISO 13679 CAL IV

7” 42.7 lb/ft VAM TOP HC-NB ISO 13679 CAL IV

7-5/8” 55.3 lb/ft VAM HP ISO 13679 CAL III

7-5/8” 39 lb/ft VAM SLIJ-II ISO 13679 CAL III

4-1/2” 18.9 lb/ft VAM TOP ISO 13679 CAL IV

3-1/2” 18.35 lb/ft VAM TOP ISO 13679 CAL IV

THE CONNECTIONS WERE TESTED TO THE FOLLOWING LEVELS

Figure 1: FEA Analysis of VAM HP.

Threaded Coupler.

LP12Tension

33%CYS

+EP 100%API5C3

Development of Smart High Performance: Drill Stem


A lso, the combination of complexwell profiles with HP/HT condi-tions down-hole can lead to even

higher stresses on the drill string, there-fore requiring greater safety margins inthe drill string design.Also, due to high financial risks associa-ted with drilling operations today, oil &gas companies are continuously lookingat mitigating drilling risks and reducingtotal drilling costs. This involves opti-mizing drilling programs and drilling effi-ciency. Improved efficiency is generally associ-ated with higher rates of penetration(ROP) and lower non-productive time(NPT). An accurate drill string selectionprior to operations planning can helpachieving these targets. A number offactors related to the drill string assem-

bly can be considered to optimize dril-ling performance. Among them:

• Pipe and tool joint dimensions forhydraulics efficiency;

• Pipe yield strength for torque & dragoptimization;

• Pipe body, weld and connection mecha-nical properties for tension and torsioncapacity;

• Other drill pipe design related featuresfor fatigue resistance, service-abilityand operating cost optimization.

New OD/ID ratios used on drill pipe,dictated by hydraulics requirements, haverequired new thread designs called

“Premium Connections”. Recent hightorque tool joint connection designs havebeen focused on highest mechanical per-formance capabilities, generally to thedetriment of drill pipe runability anddurability, compared to API connections.Starting from this, VAM Drilling hasdeveloped a new smart rotary shoulderconnection that provides optimum ope-rational performance to extreme drillingconditions with minimum impact to con-ventional rig tools, standard handlingprocedures and minimum service cost.

DESIGN AND QUALIFICATIONThis premium connection incorporatesa proprietary thread profile and high-performance double shoulder designproducing a rugged high-torque con-nection. The primary torque shoulderprovides initial seal and pre-load duringmake-up to full recommended torqueand the secondary torque shoulder pro-vides high torque capacity. The thread form features a large, roun-ded stab crest and a laid down stab flankwhich allow easy stabbing of the con-nection. A back bevelled crest reducesthe chance of wedging the thread andincreases the freedom of movement,allowing easy connection make-up. Theelliptical root increases resistance torotational-induced bending fatigue.

P R O D U C T A P P L I C A T I O N

FEA MODELLING USED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF VAM EXPRESS

The continuous developments in oil and gas drilling operations have

resulted in a significant increase in the application of extended reach

wells and horizontal drilling procedures as well as HP/HT downhole

conditions. These deeper and more deviated wells require the use of a

drill string that has both higher torsional yield strength drill pipe body

and greater torque capacity tool joints than is afforded by standard API

connections.

Rotary Shouldered Connections


The design has been subjected to rigo-rous engineering analysis. Theseinclude full FEA modelling for puretorque loads and combined torque &tension loads.During the final stages of the conne-ction development, the design has beensubjected to live testing in the followingconditions:Well: Heather 1-5Depth: 18150 ftHole: 6-1/2”Section profile: StraightRig equipment: Varco Top Drive andIron Rough NeckTop Drive Torque: Average 3300 ft-lbsTop Drive RPM: 40Drill Pipe: 4 inch, 14# S135 pipe, 47/8” OD x 2 13/16” ID tool joints, withVAM Express VX 39Typical Bottom Hole Assembly:Drill Bit, Turbine, Stabilizer, 14 DrillCollars, Jars, 3 Drill Collars, 6 HWThread Compound: Bestolife CopperSupreme Special Blend Typical average rate of penetration:3 to 4 ft/hr

RESULTS

• Consistent connection running

• No connection reject related to stab-bing, make-up or drilling operations

• Trip time in line with expectations

PERFORMANCESHigh Torque: VAM Express has tor-sional strength that provides torquecapability 1.5 to 2 times that of API connections. It allows change of OD/IDfor improved hydraulic performance.

Greater safety margins: High torqueto yield resistance, progressive failuremode if overtorqued, optimized be-havior for HP/HT drilling conditions.

Quick rig make-up: 5-6 turns fromstab-in to full make-up similar to APIconnections with trip-time savings upto 16% better than other high-perfor-mance connections.

Connection Turns stabbed to shouldered

API NC38 5.5

VAM Express 5.7

Other Premium Up to 13Connections

Extended service life: VAM Expresshas been designed to minimize damagerisk during use and recut tong loss when a recut is required. Specifically, the connection provides:• Limited stabbing risk: enhanced

clearance between box counterboreand pin nose

• Reduced wedging risk on threads• Improved pin nose durability• Improved drill string fatigue life:

the patented design includes anelliptical thread root that increasesthe connection’s resistance to rotational bending fatigue.

FIELD PROVENImprovements in terms of runabilityand service life of the product have beenexperienced during recent drilling ope-rations in Thailand, with VX 39 drillpipe rented by Weatherford toChevron. The drill string was composed with 500joints of Drill Pipe and 30 joints ofHeavy Weight Drill Pipe. It was usedby Chevron between May and October2006, which gives a 6 month period ofanalysis. Seven 6 1/8” hole sections were drilledwith this pipe, at an average depth of11 500 feet. Deviation was between 40°to 70°, average bottom hole tempera-ture was 125°C, nominal pressure andmud weight 9.6 ppg. “The use of thisdrill pipe solved excessive ECD pro-blems experienced with another brandof drill pipe”, said Chevron. “The primereason for Chevron hiring this stringof 4” VX39 was to improve our mudECD and cuttings transport. We hadstuck 3 bottom hole assemblies (reco-vered only 1) before switching to 4”

VX39. After the switch, we enjoyedlower ECD’s, better hole cleaning andequal or faster trip times”, they added.“At the end of the campaign, there were17 connections that required repair (9Pins and 8 Boxes) due to sea air corro-sion”, said Dale Potter, Weatherford.This drill string is currently being usedin Thailand by Chevron, for another 6month period, during which improvedhydraulic characteristics and low repairrates will be re-confirmed.

CONCLUSIONThis analysis of drilling records withthis new tool joint connection hasshown significant improvements in bothmechanical performance and operatingcosts:

• Torque capability up to 2 times thatof API connections, resulting in opti-mum resistance in harsh environ-ments;

• Significant trip time savings, up to16% compared to competing pro-ducts. This translates into thousandsof dollars saved for 1 deep offshorewell today;

• Extended service life and reducedoperating cost as a result of fewerrecuts and less refacing operations.

Improvements in termsof runability and servicelife of VAM Expresshave been experiencedduring recent drillingoperations.

W e spoke to Nicolas Dupont,the General Manager ofVAM Field Service Inter-

national. "Up until now, the assistancewe offered to oil companies operatingin Angola, like Esso, BP or Total, usedto be provided by VAM Field Servicetechnicians based at our service centerat Aberdeen in Scotland. There wereseveral reasons behind our decision toset up a separate center in Angola. Theexpansion of oil activities in the coun-try, particularly in deep-sea offshorefields, has significantly increased theuse of VAM TOP line products.Another consideration was the incre-asing need for on-site assistance, asprojects become more technically chal-lenging and the financial stakes get hig-her. The time had come to create VAMField Service Angola, an Angolan com-

pany employing a team of experiencedlocal technicians trained to use the pro-cedures applied in all of the VAM FieldService centers in our internationalnetwork."

WARMLY WELCOMED INITIATIVEVAM Field Service Angola was crea-ted to meet a growing demand forassistance in the area, and the openingwas extremely well received. Its legalstructure and the nationality of its stafffit in with the policy of "angolanizing"the domestic oil industry pursued bythe government and by Sonangol (*).V & M TUBES works in partnershipwith customers operating in Angolaand is therefore willing to contributeto their effort in industrializing thecountry."We expect to operate with a team of

four employees by end 2008 to supportthe customer requirements" explainedNicolas Dupont. We can also draw onstaff from other VAM Field ServiceInternational centers if there is a largeincrease in the workload. Our office inLuanda is located in the SONILS oilbase facility, right next to the drillingand completion teams we deal with."VAM Field Service Angola commer-cial terms allow customers to chooseto access the services on call-off basisor through service contracts ensuringthe flexibility and reactivity of dedica-ted resources". This way of doingthings has proved to be successful tooperators whose drilling schedules areby nature subject to rapid changes."

* Sonangol is the national Oil company respon-sible for the management of Angola's oil and gasreserves and is at the forefront of the continuingdrive to develop the country.

S E R V I C E S

VAM Field Service Angola:

Right at the heart of Angola’s oil industryA new VAM Field Service Company has just been created in the

Angolan capital, Luanda. The purpose of this Service Center is

to participate in the expansion of the oil industry in this area of

South-West Africa which is increasingly turning to the VAM

family of premium connections. Nicolas Dupont

VAM Field Service International consists of a network of service centers dedicated to support the VAM family product line. It brings together around a hundred field serviceengineers and technicians based in the main oil-producing areas in Europe, Africa, Middle-East, North America, South America, Southeast Asia and China. These experts routinelywork on platforms - both offshore and onshore as well as at sub-contractors who thread orassemble the connections on tubular accessories. Their job is to perform VAM connectioninspections or pipe running supervision, from quality control to consultancy and qualityassurance to ensure compliance to best practices.

An international network of service centers CONTACT US

VAM ANGOLASonils Business Centre (Office 015)Rua 6-1L BoavistaLuandaRepublic of AngolaPhone: +244 222 670 439Fax: +244 222 310 910


E V E N T S

V & M TUBES is the most sup-portive OCTG supplier for theexpandables industry and since

the early 2000’s. Logically the group isalso the first pipe manufacturer to hostan ETF bi-annual meeting. Attendeeswere mainly experts of this innovativetechnology in their company and almostall the major players in this business joi-ned. No doubt that these two days were

a great success with almost twenty pre-sentations and a lot of fruitful discus-sions and exchanges between the engi-neers. During the last eight years, V & MTUBES has designed and tested a lotof different type of threads in order topush forward the limits of the solidexpansion in Situ. In the meantime threenew proprietary

grades of seamless pipe were cre-ated. In the beginning of 2007,the very first premium productline for Expandables becameavailable. It is mixing proprie-tary grades as VM50 ET orVM80 ET with a new metal to

metal thread the VAM ET WISE®. Thepipe and connections are available invarious sizes from 4 1/2” to 11 3/4” andcan be expanded in a large range of finalinternal diameters. After six months of tests and trial in situwithout any related issue, the premium

V & M TUBES sponsoredthe 10th edition of theExpandable Technology ForumV & M TUBES was very glad to sponsor the 10th edition of the ExpandableTechnology Forum (ETF) on October 30th, 2007. The venue was thefamous Chateau Pommery in Reims, one of the best caves in Champagne.With almost 80 people who attended this meeting was one of the majorcontributions to the Expandables technology this year.

•••


E V E N T S

The ETF (Expandable Technology Forum) com-menced in February 2003. The forum was initi-ally funded by the European Drilling Engi-neering Association and the ProductionEngineering Association in partnership,

although it is now an independent forum with its own mem-bership. The ETF have no geographical focus (meetings are heldin both Europe and the US). The aim of the forum is to shareknowledge and experience of applying the technology, therebyhelping the uptake of the technology by oil companies world-wide. The ETF cover both solid expandable tubulars (SET) andexpanding sand screens (ESS) so is of interest to both drillingand petroleum engineers. It is not a commercial forum; the pre-sentations are technical papers, not marketing presentations.Shell, BP, Statoil, Enventure Global Technologies, Weatherford andBaker Oil Tools were previous sponsors of the ETF former events.

connections of the new VAM ETWISE® product line have been success-fully expanded during their two firstcommercial jobs in the Middle East inJuly and in September. Two strings ofthreaded joints with an initial diameterof 5 1/2” have been actually run in exis-ting – but old and unproductive – wellsof a major company. The expansion toa 6 1/4” final diameter has been opera-ted by Weatherford which has selectedthe new product of V & M TUBES.These expanded strings – with their res-pective lengths of 1100 feet and 1600feet – were used to deploy new “intelli-

gent completion” equipments. The finaluser has by now recovered a very goodoil production in his two wells. He wasalso very satisfied by the performancesand reliability of the VAM premiumthreads. We expect these successes willhelp in increasing quickly the use of thisnew product line.

•••

24 V & M R E P O R T - O I L & G A S D I V I S I O N S P E C I A L I S S U E N R . 1 1 - A P R I L 2 0 0 8

25

S P O T L I G H T S


V & M TUBES has participated to the Society of PetroleumEngineers' Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE)

which was held on November 11th-14th, 2007 in Anaheim,California. The SPE/ATCE is the leading technical conference in theE&P world. The conference attracted more than 8,000 oil & gasE&P professionals to Anaheim.

V & M TUBES’ booth displayed its complete product range offerand service in North America including:• Drill pipe, heavyweight drill pipe, drill collars, non-magnetic drill

collars and MWD housings, safety valves, and accessories for alldrilling applications through VAM Drilling.

• VAM Premium Connections for Tubing and Casing including itsnew High Torque connection: VAM HTF.

• Casing and Tubing seamless pipes

Experts from each division were present to answer questions.

In 2008, V & M TUBES will participate to this event, which is beingheld this year on September 21st-24th at the Convention Center inDenver, Colorado.

V & M TUBES participated to the SPE/ATCE exhibition in Anaheim, California

The CLEANWELL leaflet dedicated to the actual productoffer is now available. CLEANWELL is the complete solu-tion from VAM which replaces both storage and runningcompounds. It is an innovative coating applied once inthe mill or in a VAM licensee workshop on VAM leadingproduct lines. CLEANWELL is a real step change fromthe mill to the rig and beyond in your wells.

The VAM HTF leaflet is also available.VAM HTF (High Torque Flush) is a true flush OD and ID inte-gral connection providing maximum clearance along withsuperior torque strength for challenging applications suchas drilling with casing, liner rotation to achieve bettercementation in highly deviated and critical wells.

To order a copy, please email it to: [email protected]

V & M TUBES has issued 2 new brochures

A s of January 1st, 2008, PierreFrentzel has now taken up his

position as the new Managing Directorof the Oil & Gas Division of V & MTUBES. He succeeds Jean-Yves Le Cuziat who is now ManagingDirector of the E & I Division (for-merly HRT Division).

New Vice-President of the Oil & Gas Division of V & M TUBES

Jean-Yves Le Cuziat Pierre Frentzel

26

S P O T L I G H T S


Lutero Gouvea, V & M TUBES coordinator at Petrobras RN-CE, receives the prize of best supplier.

V & M Beijing received the first VAM HP order in China for wellNo.CK-1 in Sichuan basin, China.

The well no.CK-1 is the top three deepest well in China, but with mostsever geological conditions combining H2S and salt dome. The for-casted bottom hole temperature is 210oC and pressure 159 MPa.With its good communication channel and most sophisticated expe-rience dealing with HTHP wells, V & M Beijing involved in this projectat the stage of design for material and connection selection.The specification of this order including:

273.05x18.64mm VM140HC /VM110HCSS VAM HP193.7x17.45mm VM140HC/VM110HCSS VAM HP

Background:Sichuan Basin located in South-West China belongs to one of themost critical area in China for natural gas with H2S content up to15% and CO2 content up to 12%.

V & M Beijing is one of the most important suppliers to this area withmaterial covering VM110SS, VM110HCSS, VM140HC equipped withVAM TOP, VAM FJL, VAM MUST.

V & M Beijing received the first VAM HP order from China

On November 7th, 2007, V & M do BRASIL (VMB) was awardedthe prize of Best Goods Supplier in the category of big contracts

by the Unit of Petrobras in Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará (UN-RNCE).UN-RNCE gave this prize of “Best Suppliers of Goods and Services”as a recognition to the best performers in 2006.Out of the 1,800 companies that provide goods or services to UN-RNCE, only 23 were among the finalists. Out of these, eight wereawarded the prize, 4 suppliers of goods and 4 of services. To qualifyfor the contest, companies went through a rigorous process of sele-ction, evaluating quality, efficiency and adequacy of products and ser-vices provided.According to Lutero Gouvêa, who is the Coordinator of VMB’sSubsidiary in Mossoró, the main reasons for this achievement were:meeting the deadlines, price and quality of the services. Lutero said"Our difference is the customized service. As we work at the same siteof Petrobras, we know the real needs of the client, which differentia-tes us even from our largest competitor, who was also a contestant".

Recognition of V & M do BRASIL by Petrobras

On October 30, 2007, the Group announced it hadreached an agreement with Grant Prideco regarding

the acquisition of Atlas Bradford® Premium Threading& Services, TCA® and Tube-Alloy™.Atlas Bradford® is recognized in North America asa leading supplier of premium OCTG and will com-plement Vallourec’s VAM® product offering, provi-ding key expertise in integral connections for theindustry’s most demanding applications.TCA® specializes in heat-treatment operations andmarkets high-grade tubular products with a strongfocus on short-lead-time orders. TCA® will provideVallourec with additional premium capacity, speci-fic expertise in sour services, and a clear geogra-phical fit enabling Vallourec to extend its NorthAmerican footprint.Tube-Alloy™ produces and repairs down-hole tubu-lar accessories for the oil & gas industry, and spe-cializes in complex threading and machining forcustom-made orders. Combining this new activitywith Vallourec’s international client base will openup interesting growth opportunities for the Group.All three companies have an excellent track recordfor providing premium connection technology andexcellent customer service.As this issue went to press, the agreement wasawaiting customary regulatory approvals.

* Grant Prideco: international group specialized in drilling products(drill rods, connections, collars, etc.).

Vallourec acquires threebusinesses bringing high added value

Vallourec in North America

1,700 people (September 07)New businesses

+ 700 people

TA – Saint John’sNewFoundland, Canada

TA – CasperWyoming

TCA – MuskogeeOklahoma

TA – HoumaLouisiana

TA – BroussardLouisiana

AB – HoustonTexas

TA – HoustonTexas

V & M STARYoungstown

Valtimet Inc.Morristown

VAM CANADAEdmonton

VAM MEXICOVeracruz

V & M STARVAM USA

VAM DRILLING USAV & M Tubes Corp.

Houston

Vallourec Tubes CanadaBurlington

27V & M R E P O R T - O I L & G A S D I V I S I O N S P E C I A L I S S U E N R . 1 1 - A P R I L 2 0 0 8

During October 2007, VAM Drilling organized a VAMSchool assessment and training session with

Weatherford operations in Vitoria, Brazil. The assessmentwas focused on the optimization and maintenance proce-dures for Drill Pipe Riser (DRP) with WO-SR connectiontype that Weatherford has been operating for Petrobrassince 2000. The training session covered running and inspe-ction procedures for a VAM Riser high pressure metal tometal seal connection (WO-HP) that Weatherford andPetrobras will operate in deep subsea wells completion andworkover.

VAM Drilling School for Weatherford Brazil

L ast 1st and 2nd December took place in Al-Khobar theSaudi Aramco Drilling Symposium. We did present during

the conference a technical paper on HydrocleanTM based ona successful case study, written with Hapiztuddin Mangorfrom Talisman Energy and Raymond Elder from COR (CertifiedOilfield Rental). Also, we were selected to display our mostrecent connection development, VAM ExpressTM.

Saudi Aramco Drilling Symposium

L ast 5th and 6th December, VAM Drilling had the plea-sure to welcome in Aulnoye-Aymeries (our drill plant

in North of France) representatives from Turkmengas andTurkmenneft. Our guests coming from Turkmenistan hadthe opportunity to visit the drill plant and to attend a pre-sentation of our product lines. This wonderful time spenttogether is good basis for our future collaboration.

Client visit in Aulnoye drill plant

OCTG_11_BD

Documents

Transcript of OCTG_11_BD