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PIPE DREAMS


Brian Bruce, Millard Arnold and Zaid Nordien with Patrick Chaigne at an event to celebrate the Temane pipeline achievement.

 Murray & Roberts recently celebrated the successful completion of the first 100 kilometres of pipeline for Sasol’s 865 kilometre natural gas pipeline from the Temane gasfield in Mozambique to Secunda in Mpumulanga.

The contract to supply the 660 millimetre diameter double-submerged arc-welded pipe was awarded to Murray & Roberts subsidiary, Hall Longmore, at the end of 2001 and the first pipes were delivered in June 2002.

The pipes, which are manufactured at Hall Longmore’s factory in Wadeville will be used for the South African portion of the Sasol project, installed from Secunda up to the border at Komatipoort.

Hall Longmore, like many other Murray & Roberts subsidiaries, has undergone a significant turnaround in recent years.

A new strategy focused on developing the technological know-how to manufacture specialised pipes for the global oil and gas industry, coupled with a R20 million investment into a new factory and coating plant and assistance from French technological partner, Europipe, has transformed the company into one of the industry leaders in specialised steel pipe manufacturing.

Barry Pieters, managing director of Hall Longmore, says: “The project has established a world class supply capability in South Africa for these high-tech pipe products for the oil and gas industry.”

Hall Longmore recently secured a contract to supply 90 kilometres of 219 millimetre diameter pipes to another Sasol pipeline.