Plenty in pipeline for Corus

Oct 21 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

THE West coast of Africa is turning into a lucrative gold mine for Hartlepool steelmaker Corus, which has produced pipeline for some of the deepest and least hospitable locations in the world.

A strategy to expand into overseas markets has seen the company secure major pipeline projects in Nigeria and Angola as well as Thailand, Malaysia and the Middle East.

Since 2000, the company has supplied more than 180,000 tonnes of linepipe material into West Africa from the pipe mills in Hartlepool.

Corus has also supplied concrete coated pipe for Chevron’s Malongo Terminal Oil Export pipeline project in Angola - the first project in a three-year global agreement between Chevron and Corus.

The new pipeline will be used to export two crude oil blends from an existing jetty at the shoreline to two new loading berths at the Malongo terminal in Cabinda, Angola.

Sue Titmuss, marketing manager of Corus Tubes’ energy business, said the project such would give the firm “a head start” in bidding for future work in Africa.

“West Africa is one of our key markets”, she said. “Governments in Africa are trying to extract more value out of their assets.

“There is real scope for deep-water developments in West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.”

With time zone “not a problem” - Nigeria, for example, is only one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time - Sue believes it’s easy to trade with Nigeria and Angola as long as shipping arrangements and customs requirements are well thought out in advance of the project start date.

And with the area experiencing a boom in sub-sea and infrastructure work, she says Tees Valley high-value manufacturing skills are handily placed to capitalise.

“The volume and pace of developments over there is incredible,” she said. “A lot of our work in the North Sea is based on tie-backs (branch lines to the main pipes that take oil from smaller reserves) but now our focus is more on Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf of Mexico.”

PAGE TWO: China's growing influence on Africa