Fine Tubes Gears up for the Recovery
of the Oil and Gas Industry
To say that the last few years have been
difficult ones for the oil and gas industry
is something of an understatement.
Weak demand resulting from historically low
prices has made life remarkably tough right
across the supply chain.
It is estimated that the collapse in oil prices,
beginning in 2014, led to a global reduction in capital
expenditure of some 40% over the following two
years. Major projects that could no longer even come
close to previously established profit criteria were
deferred or dropped altogether.
Now, however, the industry may well be seeing the
first shoots of a recovery. Although still well below
even the post-recession high point – $115 per
barrel for Brent crude in 2011 – prices appear to be
stabilising at a sustainable level. Combined with the
drive for efficiency savings that took place in every
corner of the industry following the collapse, those
higher prices are showing signs of stimulating a
renaissance in activity.
The big issue for companies in the supply chain
– businesses like UK-based specialist tubing
manufacturer, Fine Tubes – is how to gear up for
this anticipated recovery without overextending
themselves.
Fine Tubes is one of the six businesses that make up
AMETEK Specialty Metal Products (SMP). According
to Nicholas Head, Product Manager for SMP’s oil
and gas offering, “We’re considerably more confident
about 2018 than we were about this year. We’re
investing in raw materials, moving ahead of the
4 TUBE NEWS January 2018
market to support the increased demand that we
anticipate in 2018. Initially, we expect to see this
coming from the United States and from the Middle
East shortly afterwards. We believe it will be a global
phenomenon.”
Matching availability to demand is critical for
Fine Tubes because of the sourcing complexities
involved in manufacturing high-performance tubes
from specialty alloys, such as stainless steel, nickel
and titanium, that are used to achieve maximum
corrosion resistance and to withstand pressures of
up to 60,000 psi.
“Over-ordering of raw materials, or underordering,
could prove to be a costly mistake,” says Mr Head.
“That is why we’ve developed an integrated forecast
system designed to support our planning and raw
material purchasing. It’s a feature of our operations
that sets us apart from our competitors and will
undoubtedly prove critical in ensuring we take full
advantage of the coming recovery.”
Of course, gearing up will only reap rewards if
the product is right. Fine Tubes’ unique selling
proposition (USP) is its ability to meet the most-
exacting customer specifications – an ability built
on 75 years of experience. Today, the company
manufactures tubes required for downhole, hydraulic
and chemical injection control lines; subsea
umbilicals; instrumentation tubing; downhole gauge
cables; and pressure housings, to name a few.