With the official launch of the first offshore tank produced and certified in Brazil, Suretank, the largest producer and supplier of engineering solutions for the global offshore oil and gas industry, are delivering a strong statement of intent to expand their global market leadership in this segment.

Suretank group, founded in 1995 in Ireland, began by designining and manufacturing tanks and CCUs (Cargo Carrying Units) for the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry, and have since grown to become world leaders in this area. In two decades of operation, Suretank went from producing chemical tanks in the North Sea to become a provider of tanks and containers for offshore exploration globally. Today, the company has design, engineering and manufacturing facilities in Ireland, UK, Poland, Thailand, China and the United States. Suretank’s dedication to meet the needs of Latin America’s offshore industry was a prominent factor in the addition of Brazil to their manufacturing services portfolio, which was chosen largely because of labour quality and supply chain facilitation, justifying the setting outside the traditional axis Rio de Janeiro - Macaé.

With the official launch of the first offshore tank produced and certified in Brazil, Suretank can begin participation in the country’s tank segment, an area where the company holds 60% global market share. Tanks of 1500 - 5000 liters capacity are manufactured Suretank’s Latin American headquarters, which since May 2014 operates from Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul.

The Brazilian factory combines the world-class engineering technology associated with Suretank, with local production capacity. This combination of global technology and local competence in terms of market knowledge and operational needs, offers maximum value for customers; oil companies, companies requiring the provision of engineering services, or even asset rental companies- all can count on the full range of global products offered by Suretank. Thus, the company guarantees full compliance with customer needs, allowing value to be gained from the transfer of technology and tested learning generated from years of experience in diverse and challenging markets such as the North Sea, Siberia and the Gulf of Mexico.

The latest innovations introduced to Suretank’s expansive product line are the result of a recent global acquisition, which was announced in early 2015. This new specialist Wireline equipment engineered by Prior Diesel, based in the UK, is quickly being integrated into current operations in Brazil.

This new element to Suretank’s global offerings incorporate specific engineering solutions for intervention wells through equipment such as Coil Tubing, Nitrogen Units, Pumping Units and Slick Line units, among others. Importantly, it is not only the availability of such equipment that offers additional value to the customer, but the presence of a reliable after-sales service; technical assistance and spare parts availability are the pillars that ensure the successful operation of these systems. Prior Diesel’s innovative products and services, through Suretank’s extensive sales and manufacturing location portfolio, can now be offered world-wide on a 24 hours/7 days a week basis.

Customers of Suretank can now benefit from this added dimension to the company’s operations, which was previously only available to large systems like turbo-generators and other large systems. This added value will be managed by Suretank’s Customer Care department.

Exceptional emphasis is also placed on ensuring the highest international safety standards for offshore logistics systems within the Latin American market, with global safety accreditations DNV 2.7-1, EN 12079, ASME, Achilles FPAL, and NSAIDs complimenting existing Brazilian standards such as ABNT and Norman, among others.

Suretank LATAM are placing an exceptional focus on their ‘Tropicalization’ project, which facilitates combining the best global practices and international experiences with the demands of tropical markets, and optimizing operational costs as well as providing logistical and service time advantages made possible by local manufacturing. Such benefits make this approach more desirable for the oil and gas stakeholders operating in this territory, and allow Suretank to establish themselves as essential support to multinational oil services operating in the Americas.

Global standard operating locally.

The quality of the product line offered by Suretank is also linked to capacity building and providing specific and world-class resolutions to customers' operational needs. The way found to make these ‘dedicated engineering solutions’ possible was through personalized service, performed by professionals who understand the client's business and who can add value either using their own individual competence and experience, or by applying existing solutions from the Suretank global database, allowing the removal logistical boundaries, provision of learning and dissemination of unrivalled technology.

A good example of the application of value generated by technology and innovation are the engineering systems for intervention in wells, which have ATEX certification and are ‘Rig Safe’.

As president of Suretank LATAM, Marco Pfeifer (a highly qualified engineer himself) suggests that although the oil and gas industry can be at times volatile, opportunities must be constantly identified and exploited. ‘Our strategy is to be close to our customers in order to rapidly enable us to identify their needs and constantly meet new demands. Our work is always oriented to add value, and based on the triad of business knowledge, technology and innovation. The response we've received is evident in the growth of our business in the region, despite the challenges associated with the price of oil and other regional difficulties. Satisfied customers always come back and bring with them more business!’