Vallourec to Build Premium Threading Facility in Youngstown
12/01/2011 - Vallourec announced the advancement of two projects to strengthen its positioning to serve the OCTG markets of North America and the Middle East. In North America, the company will construct a new premium threading facility in Youngstown, Ohio, through its subsidiary VAM USA LLC. In Saudi Arabia, Vallourec recently completed the acquisition of Zamil Pipes.
Vallourec announced the advancement of two projects to strengthen its positioning to serve the OCTG markets of North America and the Middle East. In North America, the company will construct a new premium threading facility in Youngstown, Ohio, through its subsidiary VAM USA LLC. This decision is supported by the development of unconventional oil & gas drilling of shale resources, the company notes, driving increased demand for premium connections.
The new VAM facility will be located next to Vallourec’s existing and soon-to-be-commissioned pipe mills, close to customers operating in both the Marcellus and Utica shale areas. It will complement the VAM USA manufacturing facilities in Houston, Tex., and enable the Group to expand its finished goods offer combining pipe and premium connections.
Representing an investment of US$57 million (€42 million), the new production facility will ramp-up in phases, starting with one manufacturing line expected to begin operation in mid-2012, and multiple lines operating by the end of 2013.
In Saudi Arabia, Vallourec completed the acquisition of Zamil Pipes on November 25 for a total consideration of €97 million. The company notes that this acquisition brings with it ready-to-run heat treatment capacity and threading facilities of up to 100,000 tonnes of pipe per year, which will be combined with the existing project to build a VAM threading facility on the same site.
Philippe Crouzet, Chairman of Vallourec’s Management Board said: “Increasingly complex and challenging drilling conditions and important safety and environmental considerations are driving demand for premium OCTG and VAM® connections…These investments are fully in line with our strategy to strengthen our local presence and provide more premium solutions both in North America, where we are a leading domestic supplier of OCTG; and in Saudi Arabia, in response to growing demand from the world’s largest oil producer, Saudi Aramco, and other customers in the Middle East.”
Vallourec is a world leader in premium tubular solutions primarily serving the energy markets, as well as other industrial applications. With more than 20,000 employees, integrated manufacturing facilities, advanced R&D, and presence in more than 20 countries, Vallourec offers its customers global solutions to meet the growing energy challenges of the 21st century.
