Under the alliance, which has an initial term of five years, the companies will market their services in an extensive partnership, and Socotherm will be Tenaris’ exclusive supplier of pipe coating services.
The alliance further contemplates a number of future stages:
an investment in a new coating facility to be located adjacent to Tenaris’ mill at Veracruz and to be held on a 50:50 basis to serve the Gulf of Mexico deepwater market;
the transfer of a coating line owned by Tenaris’ Brazilian subsidiary, Confab Industrial to Soco-Ril do Brasil, an existing 50:50 joint venture between Socotherm and Confab;
the purchase by Tenaris of up to a 50% interest in Socotherm’s pipe-coating facilities located adjacent to Tenaris’ Argentine mills at Campana and Valentin Alsina (Socotherm’s other Argentine facilities located at Escobar are not included); and
the joint development of new coating products and services.
The strategic alliance will thus deepen and consolidate a relationship which has been developing over a number of years.