Deeb Deeb, director- sales & operation, Middle East, North Africa & SE Asia, National Oilwell Varco, Mission Products says that the buyout of Anson valves just over a year ago was a good fit for National Oilwell Varco.
“Anson was a great buy for NOV because it is a good product with a fantastic reputation in the market. We offer is a range of high pressure flow lines equipments. The NOV Anson E Type Through Conduit Gate Valve has been developed to satisfy the need for a high quality, high specification valve which is reliable and reasonably priced. We make full use of modern materials and manufacturing techniques. The valve is robust, easy to maintain, which is what our clients want,” says Deeb.
“The initial cost of our upstream valves is very competitive, but the longer term cost saving resulting from robustness, and low cost of spares, we think, makes it the most cost effective valve on the market today.” Deeb says Saudi Arabia is the company’s biggest Middle East market for volume and revenues, followed by Kuwait. “The part of Mission I work for mainly deals with drilling and well services. This means we work closely with KDC, Burgan, and Weatherford as major customers.”
Deeb says that after the acquisition of the Anson brand the NOV Mission products division has embarked upon an aggressive growth plan. “The market won’t accommodate our targets by growing this year, so growing our market share is definitely our goal. That said, the market is better than last year.
Getting closer to the client is a key part of growing that business. To facilitate better support services Deeb says the company will have a new edge, and better flexibility when their modular service centres arrive.
“Right now we are extending our existing facility in Jebel Ali Freezone. We have plans to open new locations across the region for service and rental support. On top of this an interesting project we have right now is our new service containers. These are essentially mobile service centres, which come as a pair of converted 20 ft shipping containers. One is a workshop and small office, and the second is the test bay,” says Deeb.
“We can send these direct to the oilfield where they carry out the service and pressure testing in the field, and they can carry out most functions including issuing certification, so the customer doesn’t have to ship equipment to any workshops.”
The units are being built in the US, and the first set will be ready for shipment in June. “We have already had some enquiries from interested parties in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. We also have plans to roll out a new service workshop in KSA, in addition to the service containers.”
Deeb is excited about initial client feedback. “I think it will be very popular. I expect at least four sets here before the end of 2010. Appetite in the market is encouraging. It’s not a revolutionary concept, but the flexibility and service capabilities I think will be unparalleled.”
