VAM Drilling opens new mill targeting pre-salt

VAM Drilling is a company belonging to the French drilling pipe manufacturer Valourec. The new VAM Drilling mill will be located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, adjacent to already existing Valourec & Mannesmann (V&M do Brasil) steel production and pipe rolling plant. With this the company expects to be able to respond more rapidly and efficiently to its customers in South America, lowering logistics costs and reducing the production time. Accortding to Hector Arevalo VP of South American sales for V&M do Brasil “Because of the local steel production and pipe rolling capabilities of V&M do Brasil, the new mill will be able to provide full capabilities. We are the only fully integrated drill pipe manufacturer in the world that is able to guarantee its production process from steel making to final product assembly”.

This new VAM Drilling mill is expected to create up to 70 jobs and first production is scheduled to begin in April for a major international offshore drilling contractor. The company will supply operators, offshore and onshore drilling contractors and its target is to secure contracts for pre-salt drilling pipes in Brazil along with other standard drilling pipes for drillers in Brazil and all over South America. The VAM Drilling mill opening ceremony is slated to take place during the third quarter of 2011.

Premium tubular accessories for well completion with V&M Tube Alloy technology are another differential that may set the company apart from competition in Brazil, along with their deepwater drill pipe technology, specially designed for the harsh condition found in drilling through 2,000 meters or more of salt crust under the ocean floor in order to reach the pre-salt reservoirs. Another product that should interest players is their Serimax welding solutions.

Claudio Paschoa