ROGTEC Talks to Olga Volkova, Country Manager, Tenaris Russia
Olga Volkova is the Tenaris Country Manager in Russia. Her responsibilities include Tenaris’s operations in the Russian Federation, Byelorussia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. She has been working with Tenaris for seven years and is based in Moscow.
How long have you been doing business in the region?
Tenaris has had a presence in Russia since the opening of the commercial office in Moscow in 1992. We have local personnel available on a permanent basis giving on-site support to our customers throughout Russia and the Caspian Sea region.
In Kazakhstan, Tenaris opened a commercial office in the city of Aktau in 2004. Since then, Tenaris expanded its local presence opening offices in Almaty in 2008 and Atyrau in 2011. The company runs a field service office with a team of specialists in Aksai since 2009. Tenaris also installed a Dopeless® technology mobile unit in Aksai in April 2012 which allows us to apply the environmentally-friendly dope free technology known Dopeless® technology to TenarisHydril premium connections more quickly.
Tenaris’s global network of manufacturing facilities and commercial offices in over 30 countries supports our local team and offer in Russia.
Do you have a specific target markets in the region? (ie Russia, Kazakstan, key regions or market sectors offshore, EOR etc?)
We are targeting operations in complex environments that require premium connections and high-end materials with improved performance to face the needs of offshore applications, horizontal and high-pressure wells as well as sour conditions.
What are your key products for the region and their benefits?
We supply a full range of high quality OCTG products, including casing and tubing, drill pipe, premium connections, pipe accessories, sucker rods and coiled tubing.
Our TenarisHydril Dopeless® technology is a dry, multifunctional coating applied to TenarisHydril premium connections in the mill. By making thread compounds obsolete, Dopeless® technology brings operational benefits, lessening the environmental footprint and minimizing risk and costs for E&P operators.
By using this technology in Arctic conditions, there is no need to manage frozen dope during the cleaning stage or the application of the running compound, which makes operations easier and faster and provides relevant savings in running times. It also eliminates the possibility of operational problems associated with imprecise thread compound application and simplifies handling, preparation and installation.
With Dopeless® connections, operators can be assured of compliance in environmentally sensitive areas because it is a certified, zero-discharge technology.
In the Russian Federation, in eastern Siberia, an operator compared the running speeds of doped connections and those using Dopeless® technology, in the 7 inches production casing run in 73 wells. The results proved an average 25% running speed improvement and zero rejects.
In the Caspian Sea, in a well located in a remote area of West Kazakhstan, the customer was very pleased with TenarisHydril Blue® Dopeless® connection. They noted that it helped them in saving operational time due to the quick make-up, fast running speed, no over doping, nor insufficient doping and lack of rejects. Another major advantage was the fact that Dopeless® technology may be used and stored in extremely cold weather conditions without any problem.
Among our high performance premium connections, we offer our Blue® Series connections, an ideal option for offshore and HP/HT drilling. It has been tested under the highest industry standards and will continue to do so under the forthcoming revision of the API RP 5C5 Testing Protocol. We have recently extended the product portfolio, launching new connections with the Blue® design to answer the needs of a wider range of applications.
Designed for high pressure / high temperature wells, the new Blue® Max connection provides 100% pipe body performance in terms of tension, compression, internal and external pressures.
Blue® Heavy Wall connection is designed for deep well and HP/HT applications demanding heavy wall pipe with 100% pressure rated seals and enhanced performance. It has the highest compression ratings for this type of connection.
We also offer the Blue® Quick Seal connection, available in sizes from 16″ to 22″, specifically designed for large OD surface casing that requires a gas-tight seal and suitable to face potential shallow gas.
Our WedgeTM technology is key for the highly deviated wells in the region. The connections’ superior torque strength, compression and bending resistance make them more suitable for this application where the strings must be rotated and pushed into the place.
With an extensive field experience, the Wedge 563TM connection offers 100% ratings in tension and compression, provided by the dovetail threads, combined with 100% collapse rated thread seal created by full form contact of the dovetail threads. In the same series but with an integral configuration, the Wedge 523TM connection offers 100% collapse rated thread seal. Its high compression rating provided by the reverse angle stab flank of the threads, makes the product suitable for the more severe compression applications.
Designed to be tested to the highest standards, the Wedge Series 600™ connections take premium connection design and performance to a new level, meeting the requirements for exceptional performance in the most critical environments. We offer the Wedge 625TM connection for horizontal and extended reach wells and the Wedge 623TM connection for deepwater, HPHT and deep wells.
Tenaris has a wide range of proprietary steel grades with performance properties that surpass those indicated by the API. For Russian Arctic conditions, operators require steels with highly effective ductility and fracture toughness. Subjected to charpy testing at -45°C, our Low Temperature (LT) proprietary steel grades are design, to perform with excellence where other metals with a inadequate impact toughness fail in a brittle manner.
What potential is there for your products in the market?
Our high quality tubulars are suited to fulfill our customers’ needs in demanding environments. The market is rising up. There is a lot of activity going on and oil and gas companies are looking to increase their production in more challenging environments where the premium products with improved performance are making the difference in terms of sealability and loads resistance. We are providing high-end material for offshore applications, horizontal wells, high-pressure wells and sour service conditions.
How do you compare and compete with existing Russian Technology?
We offer premium products and high-end materials for the increasingly complex Russian operations. Our Dopeless® technology, which benefits were described above, has been developed to perform successfully in – 40ºC and is the only proven dope-free alternative for Corrosion Resistant Alloys (CRA) materials. Our Low Temperature proprietary steel grades have the adequate toughness to perform in Arctic conditions where standard materials fail in a brittle manner and TenarisHydril premium connections have improved performance in terms of sealability and resistance to tension, compression, bending and torque. Certain designs of these special engineered threads, provide 100% efficiency, withstanding the same loads as the pipe body.
How do you see the market developing over the next 5 years in your industry sector?
Based on the current situation, we expect the oil and gas sector to continue to grow, that is why we are working on expanding in the Russian area to accompany the increasing offshore operations where Tenaris’s materials can be used to face these difficult requirements. We have dedicated Technical Sales team to assist our customers in the differentiation of our premium product, while the logistics team is ready to execute properly and on time to build long-term relationships with our customers. Our field service specialists provide post-sales activities helping with the running and advising the operator on the practices to achieve the best performance of our products.
Do you have any new products being launched?
We launched three new Blue® Series premium connections in September. These products’ were designed based on the Blue® premium connection that has been proving its worth for the last ten years with capabilities that exceed the highest industry standards. Our portfolio has extended to deliver the same outstanding performance in an even wider range of drilling and completion applications, particularly focusing in HP/HT applications and big OD products with gas-tight sealing.
Do you have any recent regional success stories?
We are working with major and local customers in the area. Among our recent success stories, we helped an operator with the development of an offshore field through approximately 30 radially placed horizontal wells, drilled to depths exceeding 5 km in the North Caspian Sea. Tenaris supplied 13 3/8″ casing with TenarisHydril Blue® Dopeless® connections as well as 9 5/8″ casing and 7″liner with TenarisHydril Wedge 563™ Dopeless® connections.
The high torque capacity of the Wedge 563™ connection made it possible to push, rotate and cement the horizontal casing strings and production liners to TD as planned in this deep offshore well. Using Dopeless® technology, the Russian oil and gas company was able to entirely remove the steps designed to clean and dry all connections and thread protectors during pipe preparations, as well as the step to apply thread compound during running. This led to faster installations and reduced chances of accidents.
Tenaris also provided the customer with field inspection and running assistance to make sure that all best practices are followed to achieve the product performance.
