WAH SEONG SEES MORE JOBS IN QATAR
Company upbeat about joint venture between indirectly wholly-owned Wasco Coatings Ltd and Medgulf Construction Co
WAH Seong Corp Bhd is on the right footing to capture more pipe-coating projects in Qatar following a deal signed between its indirectly whollyowned unit, Wasco Coatings Ltd (WCL), and Qatar-based Medgulf Construction Co WLL.
WCL and Medgulf signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form a joint-venture (JV) company combining its capabilities and expertise in anticorrosion and concrete weight coating of pipelines in the oil and gas (O&G) industry.
“We are excited about this JV and market opportunities in Qatar. The kingdom is expected to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production to 110 million tonnes per year by 2024 from 77 million tonnes.
“This will see more pipeline infrastructure being built in the next three years, and being the only pipe-coating specialist invited to open a plant in the country... we will be in a good position to capture all the opportunities,” Wah Seong group deputy managing director Giancarlo Maccagno told the New Straits
Times after the signing of the JV agreement in Qatar yesterday.
On Feb 18, Wah Seong’s subsidiary, Wasco Energy Ltd (WEL), and Qatar Petroleum (QP) signed an MoU to set up a facility for anti-corrosion and concrete weight coating in Qatar, in support of QP’s Tawteen Program.
Tawteen is the supply chain localisation initiative for Qatar’s energy sector, led by QP with the participation of other companies in the sector.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday, Wah Seong said the JV agreement entails the incorporation of Wasco Medgulf Coatings QFZ LLC (WMC) in the Qatar Free Zone Area.
Wah Seong said WMC has a capital of 200,000 Qatari riyals (RM230,457.39) divided into 2,000 shares of 100 Qatari riyals each, to be subscribed for under a 60:40 basis in favour WCL — WEL’s subsidiary.
Yesterday’s MoU, signed by Maccagno who is also WEL chief executive officer, confirmed WEL’s commitment to supporting the QP localisation programme.
It is understood that the value of contracts expected in Qatar for the next three years would be in excess of US$300 million (RM1.2 billion).
A coating facility would be setup in Doha by March next year, following the MoU between WEL and QP on Feb 18 this year.
In April, QP issued a tender package for engineering, procurement, and construction of the four LNG megatrains of its North Field Expansion (NFE) project.
According to Wah Seong’s investors and a deck presentation seen by NST, major pipelines to be built in the next three years for Qatar’s NFE project would involve 568km of infield pipelines carrying oil, gas and water from the subsea wells and 579km of trunkline pipes to transport crude oil and natural gas across countries.
This will be the growth catalyst for Wah Seong’s coating business in Qatar.
WCL was selected by QP following an international tender, requiring bidders to set up coating plants, which will require the construction of numerous offshore and onshore pipelines.
According to reports, QP was pressing ahead with its major LNG expansion and has awarded Engineering Procurement Construction and Commissioning contracts to renowned oil and gas services players.
The tender calls for the engineering procurement construction of the four megatrains with gas and liquid treating facilities, ethane and liquefied petroleum gas production and fractionation, a helium plant, and utilities and infrastructure to support the processing units.
Wah Seong said WMC would be in a unique position to capture the coating work and associated logistics of those pipelines.
It will be in a competitive position to capture opportunities in Middle East, Europe and especially East Africa where major oil and gas discovery are expected to go into development in the next five to 10 years, it added.
Medgulf is a leading Qatari contractor involved in the procurement, construction and installation of major civil and infrastructure, industrial and pipelines for O&G projects.