Raul COSTA
Managing Director
TUBOSTRANS

Specialised services for Angola’s upstream

Angola

Raul Costa, managing director of TUBOSTRANS, talks to The Energy Year about the latest additions to the company’s assets and operations, the competitive advantage of its lifting services unit, its ambitions for expanding geographically and the attractiveness of the Angolan market for potential new international partners. TUBOSTRANS is an Angolan oilfield services company.

What are the latest additions to TUBOSTRANS’ assets and operations?
In late 2022, we initiated our fishing services unit. In partnership with WIS [Wellbore Integrity Solutions], we are now ready to serve the industry with equipment and personnel, and we are fully staffed with international personnel. TUBOSTRANS is currently working for TotalEnergies and will now focus on Chevron and Azule Energy.
So far our largest project has been our machine shop, which I’m proud to announce is now operational. We have three CNC [computer numerical control] machines, a breakout machine, a jar tester, a phosphating unit, a grinding machine and a hardbanding unit.
Other great accomplishments TUBOSTRANS has earned are the API Certifications (API-Q1, API-7-1, API-5CT). In addition to these certifications, the machine shop is also ISO 9001 certified. With many IOCs needing prompt service, we want them to know that we are ready to operate. It is essential for us to offer the highest quality on the market. TUBOSTRANS is also partaking in a few tenders for wellbore clean-up, in partnership with KAESO.

What is the competitive advantage of TUBOSTRANS’ lifting services unit?
The advantage is that we are working closely with our partner Thunder Cranes. They are specialised in portable cranes for working on offshore platforms. Some of these old platforms need cranes to operate, but usually their structure is a bit unstable, and thus, they need cranes that are reliable and portable.
Generally, putting a crane on a platform requires extensive work, but these portable modular cranes are easily deployed, quickly set up and do not require any hot work – not to mention they are safe and cost-effective. The setup is relatively simple and can be done in approximately 12 hours.
The cranes are designed to work with a diverse range of applications, such as lifting services, wireline, e-line, slickline units and coil tubing units, hydraulic workover/snubbing support, rigless plug and abandonment of wells and rigless platform decommissioning.
This type of solution is absolutely ideal for Angola’s upstream operations, which are naturally characterised by older assets in mature fields. It is a very efficient solution.

What are TUBOSTRANS’ ambitions for expanding geographically?
TUBOSTRANS is always searching for ways to expand and with opportunity arising in Namibia, we just purchased a new facility in Walvis Bay. It’s all about replicating our services from Angola to Namibia while at the same time consolidating our Angolan operations.
Our mission is to establish the first API-certified machine shop in Namibia that could greatly service its burgeoning oil and gas industry. Our target date to begin operations for the machine shop is mid-2024.
We are thrilled to explore opportunities in a new and upcoming market.

How attractive is the Angolan market for potential new international partners?
International companies are continuously showing their interest in coming to Angola. From 2016 to 2021, Angola was not an attractive market. However, they have started to believe that Angola offers profitable opportunities.
Additionally, upholding the highest levels of transparency and compliance is crucial for making Angola attractive.

What are the trends shaping Angola’s upstream sector at the moment?
The oil and gas sector follows a cyclical nature, and at the moment we are seeing a lot of activity in drilling operations, which is good for all the active companies in this market. However, it is important to think ahead and prepare for the times when drilling won’t be as prevalent. The next step for us is to be proactive and start with other services that can assist operators on the production side of the cycle.

What are TUBOSTRANS’ key strategic priorities?
Commitment to excellence and safety comprise our basic, fundamental strategy. Also, we want to continue operating with strong performance in our filtration and wellbore clean-up chemicals services and the fishing operations with TotalEnergies. Our collaboration is very good with them, and our strategies have made our partnership a success.
I have a lot of gratitude and admiration for TotalEnergies. I feel they deserve recognition. TotalEnergies was the first company to believe in TUBOSTRANS when no one else did. They believed in our vision to strive within the oil and gas industry not only in Angola but now internationally.
Another priority is to maintain our attention to detail while increasing our business, which we know can be challenging.
When I first envisioned TUBOSTRANS, the company solely began as a filtration services company, and one of my main goals was to become a fishing company within 10 years. With a lot of hard work and dedication from my team, we were able to achieve that within two years of initiating the company.
Although we have faced and will continue to face numerous challenges, I, as the managing director of TUBOSTRANS, have a desire to keep expanding and consolidating our operations. Without my team, this could not have been attained in such a short amount of time, and with that said, I would like to extend my thank you to each member of the TUBOSTRANS family.

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