Gates
Interviewee: Craig Dyke – Sales and Marketing Director
What are the main products/services that you supply to the oil and gas industry?
Our product supply into the oil and gas sector includes our premium range of Gates Oilfield hose and couplings, which is made up of high pressure mud hose, blow out prevention systems and BlackGold hydraulic hose; we are one of the few OEMs in the region to have an API-certified 16C hose within our offering. We also offer onsite mobile workshop containers and a mobile van fleet, which allow the assembly of standard hydraulic hose in the field. To complement our product range, we offer hose management, which includes the tagging of hoses and creation of a database to track individual hoses. Ongoing maintenance can then be scheduled in order to minimise downtime and failures.
Could you name some of your company’s major clients and the scope of your work with them?
Gates E&S works with the majority of rig operators/manufacturers and service providers in the region, including Lamprell, Weatherford, Schlumberger, NOV and Nabors. In the building of new rigs, we offer comprehensive hose packages. During refurbishment we offer replacement product and maintenance services.
Could you talk a specific product/service that you think is innovative and stand out from the rest? How has the market response for this been so far?
Our API 16C hose has passed the most stringent fire, flex and exposure tests in the industry. Gates is the first company to offer cut and couple technology; what this means for the customer is that our lead time is weeks, not months, which has been the industry standard.
Proserv
Interviewee: Sam Norris, Vice President – Middle East & North Africa, Proserv
What are the main products/services that you supply to the oil and gas industry?
Proserv offers the sale and rental of production equipment systems such as wellhead control systems, chemical injection systems, hydraulic power units, emergency shutdown systems and oil and gas sampling systems. We specialise in the the provision of life-of-field services including, but not limited to, commissioning, maintenance, overhauls, decommissioning, spare parts stocking, flushing, testing and calibration; all provided through our local service bases in the Middle East. We also provide our customers with a wide range of Marine services such as dredging and marine mining, pipeline services, remote intervention tooling, subsea cutting, multi-string cutting and marine growth removal.
Could you name some of your company’s major clients and the scope of your work with them?
Having been in the region now for almost 25 years we have an extensive installed base and strong relationship with all the National Oil Companies. In recent years we have also had great success bringing added value to EPC contractors and service companies.
Could you talk a specific product/service that you think is innovative and stand out from the rest? How has the market response for this been so far?
There are two specific innovations we have in the market just now that are really exciting and come at a time when the market needs them the most:
Working with a major end user in the region we have developed a smart solution to minimise production downtime in remote wells which are often noticed only during routine maintenance visits. With a simple communication system that can be retrofit onto existing control system assets are providing the client with immediate notification of production stopping and providing the resource to support getting it back up within hours. We use modern information technology to enhance assets and well information for some of the oldest and remote wells in the region. The pickup and interest from the other national oil companies is now also taking pace.
TANKCO
Interviewee: Matthew Kurian, Director of Sales and Marketing, TANKCO
What are the main products/services that you supply to the oil and gas industry?
As a distributor in the Middle East, TANKCO is basically involved in supply of some very innovative firefighting systems like LUF and IFEX to the oil and gas industry. Apart from that our range of product includes ARGO and Centaur all-terrain vehicles for a wide range of services related to oil and gas sector like seismic survey, exploration support, etc.
Could you name some of your company’s major clients and the scope of your work with them?
Our clients include government institutions like border security departments, local fire departments in Kuwait, oil and gas contracting companies like Schlumberger, etc. We have recently launched LUF and IFEX systems for the Middle East market, with an aim to supply them to the oil and gas industry in region.
Could you talk a specific product/service that you think is innovative and stand out from the rest? How has the market response for this been so far?
LUF 60 and 120 are two wireless remotely operated firefighting support machines from LUF family and with their unmatched capacity of 3000 litres/minute for LUF 60 and 12000 litres/minute for LUF 120, with a throwing range of 80-100 metres. Both systems operated at a range of 300 metres with all functions in LUFs operated by a remote controlled unit makes them unique in their category. No other machines match with their features and capability which are offered in such compact but powerful machines.
LUF machines compactness, tremendous power, flexibility, mobility and safety makes them a game changer in big fire scenarios. The idea of controlling and extinguishing a fire from a distance of 300 metres wirelessly with a capacity of discharging 3000 litres/minute and 12000 litres/minute up to a distance of 80-100 metres avoiding the risk and safeguarding the precious lives of firefighters makes them different. Usually features which are available with LUF 120 exist only on 40 tonne-trucks with four axles. So far we have received very positive remarks from all over the region.
How was business for your company in 2015? What do you plan to achieve in 2016?
Our project of introducing the LUF and IFEX range of products for the Middle East market was launched in January 2016 and we hope to have a positive year.
What is your general opinion of the services sector catering to the regional oil and gas industry? How is your company is different?
Service sector for the oil and gas industry in particular is one of the biggest and will always be in demand whether it is related to upstream, downstream, heavy equipment, manpower or supply of unique and innovative products like LUF and IFEX. As a distributor of LUF and IFEX products in the Middle East, we believe TANKCO has taken a leap by bringing these proven technologies to the region which makes us different when compared to some existing conventional firefighting systems and machines.
What was the impact of declining oil prices on your company? With oil prices creeping up slightly do you feel that the oil and gas industry can bounce back soon?
For the oil and gas industry ‘safety comes first’. Whether oil prices are up or down we don’t feel this will make a big difference when we are taking into consideration high value assets like refineries, petrochemical plants, power stations, seaports, airports and other facilities we definitely believe that LUF and IFEX systems will be an asset to have along with other firefighting apparatus.
Betec Cad Industries
Interviewee: Sriram C.M.P, Director, Betec Cad Industries
What are the main products/services that you supply?
Betec Cad has for over 20 years been a leading provider of designing and manufacturing, durable and high-performance fire safety products for industrial, commercial and residential applications. Ventilation openings in any of the fire-rated partitions would permit a fire to spread from the compartment of origin to adjoining compartments or space. Betec Cad’s fire/fire smoke dampers are installed in these ducts or ventilations, which closes automatically upon detection of heat by thermal device or by BMS, blocking the openings and preventing the spread of fire to the adjoining compartment.
Betec Cad manufactures specialised stainless steel UL classified motorised fire dampers and fire smoke dampers having a three-hour fire rating as per UL 555/UL 555S standards, meeting NFPA standard requirements. Betec Cad also manufactures stainless steel tunnel ventilation damper having three and four-hour fire rating/integrity, as per BS 476 part 20-22 standard, to meet high-end applications of the oil and gas sector.
We have served the regional oil and gas industry for more than a decade, having worked on some of the major projects including the Khazzan Refinery in Oman, the Ras Laffan Refinery in Qatar, ADGAS and the Shah Gas project in Abu Dhabi.
Could you talk about a specific product/service that you think is innovative and stands out from the rest?
Our Fire and Gas Damper (FGD) is one amongst our innovative products. It has undergone rigorous testing and has been classified as class-1 ultra-low leakage damper with a leakage of 0.0005 m³/sec./ft² tested at 8 inch water gauge pressure with 4500 fpm air velocity. The damper has a closing time option of 1 second and three seconds depending on the requirement. It is user-friendly to operate and maintenance free. The damper is known for its reliable operations, especially during emergency conditions and it can be used in explosive environments as it has a spark-free design. These are some of the stand out features the fire and gas damper has and the market response for such dampers is increasing day by day.
How was business for your company in 2015? What do you plan to achieve in 2016?
2015 was primarily a very encouraging year, which has boosted us in terms of expanding into manufacturing various other products like fire doors as per UL 10C, oil and gas products such as fire and gas dampers, zero leakage isolation dampers, etc. These new products are targeted to serve markets such as oil and gas, nuclear plants, etc. We plan to venture and expand ourselves in South East Asia, Africa and European markets.
What is your general opinion of the services sector catering to the regional oil and gas industry? How do you think your company is different?
The oil and gas industry requires high premium and precision products as one can’t dare enough to take chances. Innovative product development is a must; therefore Betec Cad stands No. 1 amongst the regional competitors in terms of investing in product development and R&D to meet international high safety regulations.
Betec Cad’s products are manufactured with the highest quality an organisation can have. Our products have been rigorously tested as per various international standards and have been certified. The importance of a certified product is increasing and only a few companies are able to fulfill this criteria.
Jereh
Interviewee: Li Weibin, Senior Vice President, Jereh
What are the main products/services that you supply to the oil and gas industry?
We are focussed on the oil and gas industry for 17 years now. We manufacture the complete oilfield equipment and API accessories – drilling rig, cementing unit, nitrogen pumper, fracturing unit, wellhead, downhole tools, etc. In midstream and downstream, we offer equipment as well as engineering services, including compressor packaging, LNG, Gas-to Liquids, pipeline engineering, fuelling station, containers, etc. We also offer full integrated services management, including pumps, valves, tube, manifold etc., a one-stop shop for all maintenance and repairs.
Could you name some of your company’s major clients and the scope of your work with them?
We deal with the major oil and gas producers and service companies in the region. To name a few, in Saudi Arabia we work with Saudi Aramco for the crude oil tank cleaning services, in Oman with PDO and in Abu Dhabi with the ADNOC group of companies. We offer customised well completion and stimulation equipment for onshore and offshore operations.
Could you talk a specific product/service that you think is innovative and stand out from the rest? How has the market response for this been so far?
Many mature wells require periodic acidising operations to improve productivity efficiency. Jereh can offer a one-stop service for it from demand generation to formula analysis and equipment design. Based on our track record in the Middle East and robust business plan, we can continue to deliver a competitive proposal.
Byrne Rental
Interviewee: Pat Fallon, Chief Operating Officer, Byrne Rental
What are the main products/services that you supply to the oil and gas industry?
Byrne’s product range for the oil and gas includes spans across categories such as power, steam, air compressors, lifting, earth-moving and welding. Besides, we also make products specific to the oil and gas industry such as complete outdoor camps with kitchens, tool-room containers, DNV certified baskets and frames and blast resistant modular units.
Could you name some of your company’s major clients and the scope of your work with them?
Byrne Equipment Rental deals with most major companies in the oil and gas industry across the GCC that utilise our full range of equipment and services. Our clients include Halliburton (power generation and compressors), NPCC (compressors), BAM International (camps), Shell Qatar (anti-blast buildings) and Schlumberger (steam boilers and camps).
Could you talk a specific product/service that you think is innovative and stand out from the rest? How has the market response for this been so far?
Almost all our products are innovative as we keep upgrading all our equipment to suit the customers’ ever changing requirements to ensure that this creates a win-win situation for both the parties and also saves unnecessary cost. Market response has been very good for this so far and keeps us close to the customer.
Emerson
Interviewee: David Kraft, Vice President – Plantweb Solutions Group, Emerson Process Management – Middle East & Africa
What are the main products and services that you supply to the oil and gas industry?
Emerson’s PlantWeb Solutions Group provides control and safety systems, remote terminal units (RTUs) and SCADA systems that control the processes and unlock operational insight into oil and gas fields, pipelines, plants, terminals and other facilities. We also provide the systems that monitor the health of mechanical equipment to protect them from damage and optimise their performance. We help customers implement holistic reliability programmes through our consultancy, remote monitoring support and associated services.
Could you name some of your company’s major clients and the scope of your work with them?
We can say that we have worked, and are working with, major international and national oil companies in the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia, we automated the largest oilfields, offshore platforms, and gas-oil separation plants with our control systems, RTU, SCADA, and wireless technologies, and help our customers implement reliability programmes and energy audits. In Iraq, we provide the automation systems to develop massive oilfields and rehabilitate existing facilities. In Qatar, we constructed and are maintaining the world’s largest NGL processing trains. In Kuwait, oil gathering centres and refineries are monitored and controlled using Emerson’s control systems and RTUs. We’ve also executed several mega projects across Africa: Nigeria, Kenya and Angola to name a few. We also have invested in local manufacturing and service capabilities within Africa.
Could you talk a specific product/service that you think is innovative and stand out from the rest? How has the market response for this been so far?
Emerson’s latest initiative, called ‘Project Certainty’, is a technology and engineering approach that reduces project costs, accommodates inevitable changes and reduces complexity of projects. Technologies like electronic marshalling with CHARMs allow oil and gas operators to add I/O on-demand, without increasing the control room and wiring footprint. Emerson’s Smart Wireless devices, which can be installed in a matter of hours, make last-minute design changes possible without delaying the project schedule.
Because of the low-oil price market, the industry is keener in ensuring reliability of operations. Our reliability technologies and services help customers to improve the health of their assets so they can boost returns on these assets, reduce the risks of critical failures, and mitigate data risks. New service approaches like ‘Pay for Data’ allow us to work closer with customers to ensure peak performance. Under a ‘Pay for Data’ agreement, Emerson personnel manage and maintain the technologies at the customers’ site to guarantee continuous reliable data and better assessment of site performance and conditions.
How was business for your company in 2015? What do you plan to achieve in 2016?
Emerson in the Middle East and Africa accounted for $1.4bn, or 6% of global Emerson sales in fiscal 2015 with continued growth initiatives to secure profitable sustainable growth. We are seeing a better year in 2016 as we continue win to projects focussed on modernising control and safety systems and implementing reliability programmes.
What is your general opinion of the services sector catering to the regional oil and gas industry?
The Middle East region continues to improve its oil and gas services sector and I can say that it is becoming a hub for innovation and world-class lifecycle services. Emerson supports this development by expanding its presence and localising more manufacturing, and service capabilities closer to where industrial facilities are located.
Rockwell Automation
Interviewee: Neil Enright, Regional Sales Director – Middle East, Rockwell Automation
What are the main products/services that you supply to the oil and gas industry?
Easy oil is all but gone. To optimise operations and maximise profitability, one needs cutting-edge automation and control technology that will keep pace with uptime demands and inhospitable production environments – from offshore to the digital oilfield to refining. Our experienced oil and gas team leverages in-depth industry knowledge to design, implement, deploy and support your business needs no matter where your operations take you around the world.
In such a dynamic industry, oil and gas companies today are looking for ways to maximise production while minimising control system complexity and costs. The PlantPAx process automation system offers open, standards-based multi-discipline control for the continuous production, processing, transportation and refining of oil and gas products.
Could you talk a specific product/service that you think is innovative and stand out from the rest?
Today, smart devices – elements of the Internet of Things (IoT) embedded in wellheads, on compressors and pump stations, and within refineries – are yielding a new wealth of operational information. But making sense of that data is another matter. That’s why leading oil and gas companies are taking advantage of advanced analytical software and the industrialisation of Ethernet to create The Connected Enterprise. By smoothly integrating information technology with operations technology, oil and gas companies can better leverage the full value of their asset information, and accelerate high-performance petroleum production. Visualise and control production from the wellhead to the point of custody transfer, either on site or from miles away, with our ConnectedProduction system. Fully integrated, scalable control that puts the power of information at your fingertips, it helps maximise the recovery of existing reserves, optimising production and reducing downtime.
How was business for your company in 2015?
Sales were recorded at $6bn in fiscal 2015, down 4.8% compared to $6.62bn in fiscal 2014. Organic sales increased 1.1%, and currency translation reduced sales by 6%. For the full year, we overcame significant headwinds from heavy industry end markets and delivered organic growth of 1.1%. Strong productivity, particularly in the Control Products & Solutions segment, was a key contributor. We are experiencing weak market conditions as we move through fiscal 2016. Heavy industry end-markets, including oil and gas have not yet stabilised, and we see continued softness in key emerging markets. In our largest market, the US, the strong dollar is adversely affecting producers and OEMs. As a result, our customers are being more cautious with capital expenditures and operating spending. We therefore expect a weak start to the fiscal year and don’t believe we will see year-over-year growth until later in fiscal 2016. We are projecting fiscal 2016 organic sales to be flat to down 4% year over year.
RSK
Interviewee:Fergus Collie, Managing Director, RSK – Middle East region
What are the main products and services that you supply to the oil and gas industry?
RSK is an international engineering, science and technical support services business with established environmental, social and health impact assessment (ESHIA), site investigation, contaminated land remediation, waste management, geoenvironmental assessment and an ISO IEC/17025 accredited soil and chemical laboratory in Iraq.
Could you name some of your company’s major clients and the scope of your work with them?
The three longest relationships we have in Iraq are with BP (Rumaila Operating Organisation – ROO) – contracts to manage and operate their waste facility, provide environmental consultancy and soil treatment, including bioremediation and environmental laboratory testing; Shell Iraq Petroleum Development (SIPD) – ground investigation geotechnical laboratory testing, environmental land assessments and topographical surveying services, and Basrah Gas Company (BGC) – soil and ground water investigations.
Could you talk a specific product/service that you think is innovative and stand out from the rest? How has the market response for this been so far?
Use of an unmanned aerial system (UAS) to support survey work, inspections such as live flare stacks and emergency response visualisation. The realisation that a UAS provides a safe and cost effective method of data capture has been picked up by government, IOCs and contractors, who continue to identify additional tasks for the equipment.
How was business for your company in 2015? What do you plan to achieve in 2016?
2015 was a tough year. However, we remain committed to Iraq and continue to invest to develop our portfolio of services in Iraq. In addition to maintaining our inventory of drilling and monitoring equipment and our laboratory, we are establishing a training academy, endorsed by the University of Basrah, to offer Health and Safety, technical and skills training to local contractors working in the oilfields. Our expectation is that this academy together with waste management, surveying (including 3D laser scanning) and UAS services will be at the core of our work in the region this year, while work related to oilfield infrastructure and clean-up projects are affected by budget cuts.
What is your general opinion of the services sector catering to the regional oil and gas industry? How do you think your company is different?
Iraq boasts a broad spectrum of capable oilfield service providers. At RSK we seek to standout by combining our engineering and scientific expertise with our proven strength in providing turnkey contracting services to deliver projects from conception to completion.
Since 2012, when we started working in Iraq, our focus has been to train and develop our local workforce. We now employ more local staff than expatriates in Iraq and are proud to have trained local drilling crews, engineers, survey teams and laboratory technicians to international health, safety, environmental and operational standards.
NAFFCO
Interviewee: Rajendran Ekambaram, Senior Operations Manager – Fire Engineering, and Oil, Gas & Power, NAFFCO
In your opinion, how equipped is the GCC oil and gas industry in terms of fire protection?
There is definitely room for improvement, although I wouldn’t say that the industry is not equipped. The latest technology on earth is available in the Middle East. The most intelligent fire engineering happens in the oil and gas and power sectors. You see the standards being followed, and very ethically, here in the Middle East’s energy industry, unlike the commercial sector where there is room for dilution. You see real engineering happening in the oil and gas industry, both in terms of safety and security as well as from the management side. There is general awareness among companies here. The IOCs anyway follow global standards wherever they invest.
This category (oil and gas) needs special fire management because the existing oilfields, storage tanks, refineries, etc. are not less than 10 years old. Whatever the latest technology and standards were at the time when these were being built, had been implemented. But today’s realities are different and are far ahead and they need refurbishment.
Can you talk about a product or service by your company (being developed or in use), which you think is pathbreaking and is helping (or will help) your customers in securing their operations?
We have already come out with a strategy which is unique to all aspects of a project, which involves HSE and execution; it is a turn case solution. None of the oil and gas service providers have everything under one roof. Given our inter-departmental coordination and the regional hubs that we have, we are able to execute any project from anywhere. So I can execute a project in Oman by just sitting here in Dubai, I can get the fire engineering done in Dubai and execute the project in Angola, I can handle a refinery project in Nigeria.
There is a series of inergen gas cylinders that we are selling presently. Now how do you design an inergen gas cylinder for an application in a project?
The standard thumb rule goes in accordance to the volume and weight (in kilogrammes) of gas required. But we don’t do that; we insist on central banking. When you have a central banking system, you distribute the gas through pipelines to various rooms that need to be protected. This becomes cost-effective, yet the standards are maintained. This system can surely be installed at oil rigs.
What is your opinion about safety of workers operating in hazardous conditions with chances of fire outbreaks? Is there enough awareness about labour safety in the Middle East energy sector?
HSE standards depend on the specific country and company. All along what we have experienced is there is a lot of improvement that is required, when it comes to HSE in the region. We help companies improve that. We have our own HSE unit that gives training and support to the companies. When we execute projects, we offer training for free. The working conditions for workers in the regional oil and gas sector is hazardous, unlike the commercial sector.
