Rio de Janeiro Receives Tenaris’ Fifth R&D Center

The company invested US$ 39 million in the construction of its Research and Development Center in Brazil, located in UFRJ’s Technological Park. The entire investment plan underway in Brazil reaches US$ 370 million.

In order to offer the highest technology, excellence and innovation to its Brazilian and global customers in the energy sector, Tenaris inaugurates on April 15, 2014, its new Research and Development Center in UFRJ’s Technological Park (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) on Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro. “The US$ 39 million investment was motivated by the strategic opportunity to contribute to Brazil’s technological and economic development. The immense energy reserves, such as the Pre-Salt layer, present unprecedented challenges to the industry and demand safe and efficient operations while maintaining utmost respect for the environment,” says Renato Catallini, Tenaris President in Brazil.

Marcio Marques, Director of the Tenaris R&D Center in Brazil, said that close interaction among companies in the energy sector with the University and with CENPES (Petrobras’ R&D Center in Brazil) has strategic importance for the country’s technological leadership; and that Tenaris wants to contribute to this project. “In a total area of 4,013 m2, of which 2,880 m2 are constructed area, the Center will be dedicated to the development of products and technologies for OCTG, line pipe and other markets, such as automotive, nuclear, mining and structural applications, as well as to the constant improvement of products already being offered to the Brazilian market,” he says.

The Center will mostly focus on the development and qualification of TenarisHydril premium connections and the TenarisHydril BlueDockTM weld-on connector, welding technologies, differentiated coatings – such as clad and organic, and on areas of study in fracture mechanics and finite elements.

“The research carried out here will directly impact our business and challenges, including high pressure and corrosion that we are facing in our exploratory wells, mainly in the Pre-Salt. This center enriches our value chain and contributes to Brazil’s qualifications for the energy industry in the medium and long term,” says Rudimar Lorenzatto, Petrobas E&P Manager.

Tenaris’s ongoing investment plan in Brazil reaches US$ 370 million, and mainly focuses on the improvement of production lines for pipes, coatings and the TenarisHydril BlueDockTM connector, and the service offer for OCTG.

Tenaris has strategic partnerships with companies such as Usiminas to study offshore exploration technologies, contributing to the increase of local content in its projects in the country. One example is the X65 Sour Service Steel, designed for corrosive environments.

The material was developed in partnership with a national steel producer and has been approved by Petrobras, which also participated in the project.

This is Tenaris’s fifth R&D Center worldwide, and it reinforces the company’s position as global leader in high-performance, high-specification tubular products, serving Brazil and the world. The other Centers are in Argentina, Mexico, Italy and Japan.

Construction of the Brazilian Center took a year and a half, offering employment to over 480 professionals. When in operation, the Center will employ 25 to 40 highly skilled professionals, including Masters and Doctors in technical and scientific areas. “Tenaris’s global Research and Development network is a key differentiating element in our products and services and consists of over 200 professionals around the globe. This network is prepared to work on the most challenging projects in Brazil,” says Paolo Rocca, Tenaris CEO.