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High-performance materials
are in demand
Schoeller Werk has identi ed a trend whereby the most important requirements on offshore pipes are dimensional stability and corro- sion resistance. “So our customers often decide for high-performance materials such as alloys,” says Markus Zimmermann.
However, the production and transportation of oil and gas requires not only ef ciency, but also safety. Although safety standards are already very high, they still need developing. “As pipe manufacturers, a large part of our steel pipes go to the oil and gas industry where they play a major role in the ongoing mini- misation of risks,” says Dr. Bissel, Vice President Sales Europe/Africa from the steel pipe manufacturers
Vallourec. Industrial safety and environmental protection have always been central issues in the oil and gas industry and are therefore also crucial priorities for suppliers, including the steel pipe industry. “All stakeholders need to have an assurance of the highest possible safety. Even under today’s cost pressure,” says Bissel, “the industry mustn’t lose sight of a vital priority: ‘safety everywhere and at all times’.” For environmental reasons Vallourec now also offers pipe connections that can do completely without lubricants (Cleanwell).
Competition from fracking
Intense pressure can be felt by the oil and gas industry not just deep down below sea level, in their pipe- lines. But the demand situation, too, has developed far less posi-
tively than expected. “Following the Arab Spring and thus high expecta- tions in the Middle East, a large number of projects were initiated which subsequently caused over- capacities,” says Dr. Dirk Bissel. At the same time, the increase in productivity and therefore com- petitiveness of US shale gas was clearly underestimated.
So-called fracking – extract- ing oil and gas from shale stone – is very much in competition with traditional oil production at the moment and is increasing the volume of oil that is traded throughout the world, says Markus Zimmermann from Schoeller Werk. Any decisions by OPEC to stabi- lise oil prices and to reduce the production volume are therefore having relatively little impact.
Market information
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