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Vallourec® Services: revamping Vallourec’s services portfolio to become leading pipe and service provider Vallourec has long been known as a trustworthy provider of pipes and tubes for the Oil & Gas (O&G) and other industries, as well as more recently for low-carbon energy companies.

03/21/2023 - Services
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Vallourec has long been known as a trustworthy provider of pipes and tubes for the Oil & Gas (O&G) and other industries, as well as more recently for low-carbon energy companies. Leveraging its strong service offering already implemented in some regions, Vallourec is now taking these services to another level at a worldwide scale with Vallourec® Services. With the reorganization of its service portfolio, the Group is positioning itself to become a leading pipe and service provider. 

With Vallourec® Services, our aim is to support the customer throughout their use of our products, from procurement to final use, and even repurposing solutions for unused pipes. That’s why we’re reorganizing our service offer to help ensure the pipe’s efficient performance from material selection through to final use. In this way, we can guarantee our customers peace of mind and full support along the entire value chain.

Sylvie Dubois-Decool Services & New Businesses Director at Vallourec

An essential component of any manufacturer’s offer is the product support it provides to its customers. But that proposition, as important as it is, is no longer enough. To be recognized as an exemplary services provider, companies need to focus on use along their products’ full lifecycle. That’s why Vallourec is reorienting its value proposition as a provider of pipes and services. To enhance its service offer, Vallourec is concentrating on three areas:

Easy procurement

With the ambition to digitize all product sales, a few years ago Vallourec created Smartengo. This e-commerce site enables customers to purchase Vallourec products in stock or when semi-finished. “We’re always looking for ways to simplify the purchasing process for our customers,” Sylvie says. “And, Smartengo allows them to do just that with shorter lead times.”

Vallourec also provides customers the opportunity to manufacture parts using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), considerably reducing lead time and waste.

Ensuring end-to-end operational efficiency

Vallourec’s engineering specialists aid customers from the conception stage, helping them design their wells. They provide them with product and material recommendations on a case-by-case basis.

By grouping traditional and new digital services together, Vallourec is helping customers prepare its products prior to shipping to their final use site. Subsequently, the Group helps them at their operations base and on the rig to properly implement the products—with maximum efficiency.

Meanwhile, Vallourec’s inventory services maintain the quality of stored products before delivery for final use. “After storage, and before delivery to the rig, our teams inspect all pipes to make sure there is no damage, and that all conditions are in place for a seamless run,” Sylvie says. “We can also ‘scan’ the pipes in the field to provide customers with specific actual pipe data. This also enables them to place equipment in the optimal position and/or boost specific downhole operations.”

In this way, Vallourec ensures all its products are ready for final use before sending them out.

And VAM® Field Service (VFS) technicians are always available to go to customers' wells, where they can provide running support services onsite. Aided by digital solutions, VFS technicians help secure operations and improve efficiency.

Helping customers even before delivery

Vallourec is continuously innovating to provide customers with additional value. For example, Vallourec’s new Pre-Installed Cable Protector service helps customers before the pipe ever gets to the rig. Jon Bibby, Business Owner of the solution, explains how it works: “On a rig, operators spend significant time clamping cables to pipes. The average is two to three minutes in the red zone spent adding a cable protector to each pipe. To save time and increase safety, one of our experts suggested pre-installing the clamp to the pipe before it reaches the customer.”

Now, the operator on the rig only has to insert the cable through the cable protector and close it. This adds functionality to our pipes without compromising the pipe’s integrity and leads to savings in terms of time and cost. “It’s services like this that set our experts apart from our competitors,” Jon adds.

Offering repurposing services for the Circular Economy

Going further, Vallourec's global network of field inspectors can evaluate surplus pipes that customers have stored for a long time and end up not using on a project. After inspection, the expert-backed quality assurance teams can recommend if the surplus pipes will function without fail in their newly purposed role.

Once verified, these tubulars can either be run or resold via Behub-e, the online marketplace that Vallourec created for all industry players. Each pipe saved for reuse decreases waste production and reduces environmental impact.

“As we reorganize our services for our traditional customers in the O&G industry, we’re also embracing new business opportunities through forays into new energy markets,” Sylvie says. “Specifically in low-carbon activities such as geothermal, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen, in line with Vallourec's developments in these industries with its dedicated portfolio Vallourec® New Energies.”

Digital twin pilot program puts innovation into practice

Customers are already implementing and testing Vallourec’s service innovations. Pipe Navigator, for example, is becoming an indispensable component in many pipeline projects around the world. Pipe Navigator centralizes all line pipe technical documents and data on a single platform, allowing customers immediate access to the information they need, quickly sorting through mountains of data.

Pipe Navigator also provides inputs for a user’s digital twin, a virtual representation designed to accurately reflect a physical object. When pipeline managers feed information about their pipes into Pipe Navigator, or data is automatically collected from the asset, this is reflected in the digital twin. Project managers can visualize all pipelines’ details, making it easier to assess the condition and configuration of assets.

“One client used the term ‘single source of truth’ to define Pipe Navigator,” Adrian Partearroyo, Pipe Navigator Business Owner, says. “And that’s what we’re aiming for. The platform should be a one-stop shop for suppliers, manufacturers and operators, where they can find all data related to their pipes.”

In the coming months, sales teams will increasingly promote these services as the new portfolio organization takes shape. Vallourec will continue to leverage its strengths for the benefit of customers throughout its products’ full lifecycle.

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