马格纳Varvik , REINERTSEN公司
Release Date: 2010-09-13
Magne Varvik, Managing Director of Reinertsen NWR, was interviewed by Russiaenergy.com for a Russia Special report for Oil and Gas Financial Journal to discuss the history of Reinertsen NWR, its operations in Russia, the challenge of adapting the company's practices to Russia and its active social involvement in the lives of the local communities.It was not before 2005 that Reinertsen NWR finally opened operations in Russia. Why did the company choose Russia as its expansion base, and why Murmansk - out of the other potential ports?
Reinertsen began its life in 1946, after the war, as a civil engineering company busy with reconstruction projects. In 1980, the company moved into offshore projects, and so was split into two divisions: the civil and onshore engineering side, and offshore oil and gas engineering. In 1995, the company moved into fabrication in its offshore business, which was actually quite extraordinary. Since that time, the company has been looking north. Fields like Shtokman had already been discovered at that time, and Reinertsen had seen the potential of working on such projects and began to investigate the possibility of establishing a facility in Russia.
Torkild Reinertsen leads the oil and gas division from Norway. He is a very strong personality, and has a very strategic mind. He started the search for a location here in Russia, along with Geir Suul, his Commercial Director, in order to take the pressure of fabrication away from Norway.
It is no secret that the cost of business in Russia is less expensive than Norway, and the decision to establish operations here was taken once it became clear that it would be possible to maintain the same levels of quality that the company had in Norway. In the year and a half before 2005, there was quite an intense period of looking at different facilities, and considering different options. Then, at that time, Statoil gave Reinertsen a project that would allow the company to start up a new facility, and so the decision was taken. It was a large project, which allowed Reinertsen to hire between 60 and 70 employees over a six-month period. Statoil really has been a tremendous partner for Reinertsen.
You mentioned that in Russia Reinertsen was able to be more cost-competitive, but attain the same level of quality that you had in Norway. How much of a challenge was achieving that quality level when the Russian operation was starting up? What kind of strategies did you employ to bring the quality up to that level?
Although it took time to educate the new Russian welders and platers in line with Reinertsen’s internal systems, and to teach them how to understand Norwegian plans and drawings, by far the largest challenge was the HSE. The workers were not used to wearing safety and protective equipment, and to work according to the company’s quality assurance and HSE systems.
To change such a culture within half a year is impossible. However, the company is currently in a state of growth, and it is a real pleasure five years after establishing the company in Russia to see the difference between those employees that started on day one and the newly recruited staff: the Reinertsen culture has definitely been instilled in the Russian operation.
The first 35-40 Russian employees were sent to Norway for some months for intensive training in the Norwegian yard. Although the employees needed training in core company competencies, some of the Reinertsen’s Russian employees are very impressive welders, perhaps even better than the Norwegians themselves.
How much of a priority is the Murmansk operation for Reinertsen as a whole today?
The work that Reinertsen does in the oil and gas sector entails both fabrication and engineering. A small percentage of the company’s turnover comes from the fabrication division, but the work that is done in Murmansk is really the foundation of Reinertsen’s whole operation. Today, all fabrication is being done in Russia. Reinertsen recently won a contract at Mongstad TCM. All fabrication for this project is being done in Murmansk. The operations at Nordanger are now exclusively focused on maintenance and modification. The reason that these operations are based in Norway is that it is more convenient, as all of Reinertsen’s fabrications are in place on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
It must have been quite a big change of mindset for the company over the last five years to move everything out here.
It’s enormous, we are getting up to 450 people now while I only had 130 in September. Now, in April 2010, we will have 450.
Is engineering still done at the headquarters in Trondheim?
We have 25-30 engineers at our office here. They have one floor, working with pipe support, piping, and also structural engineering. That’s a good source of income for us here, and they are working very integratedly on the projects, so the main idea was to create an engineering office that could support and be enclosed to the fabrication, and support the fabrication.
Is integration something that is going to bring more engineers to Russia? Is Reinertsen NWR going to consolidate its position here as Reinertsen as a whole or is it just going to do fabrication here?
We have 1,000 engineers in Norway and 30 in Murmansk, so there are different dimensions. Of course, our think-tank is still in Norway, and especially when it comes to subsea, flow line engineering, Reinertsen is one of the world leaders… The engineers from Murmansk are at a good level and are constantly improving, and as we see now, three of the engineers are taking leading positions now and running their own groups. I do not exclude possible expansion, and we might also look at other facilities.
As Mr. Reinertsen said in 2008, ‘we are not here in Russia as a Norwegian company in order to make a quick profit, but to build the Reinertsen name into a brand name within the russian oil and gas company.’ You arrived in 2008, the same year that this quote was given. How successful do you think you have been building that reputation here in Russia?
Turkil Reinertsen has a hand in the strategic and still a strong hand, and meeting with these people, and attending the seminars, so a lot of the work is still done by himself when it comes to reputation and being the outward face. That’s important to note. I would say that in 2008, when I came, I didn’t arrive here to settle table, we had a very big challenges in 2008. I would say very big. I think I have been very successful working, and continuing the good foundation, and sorting out a lot of challenges we had, and I think that we are now, we have changed again, and the reputation is getting, I don’t know, you maybe here more than us. I think I have been successful in creating an organisation, not only a force to do projects and get them to Norway, because we are working with Norwegian projects mainly, we have become an organisation with clever administration and good operators, and we have a system implemented, I would say we are becoming an integrated part of the social structure of Murmansk. I think we are now looked upon more now as a Russian company, because we are taking part in society, and taking part in the industry. I am the only Norwegian, and also people claim I am becoming slowly Russian – my children and my wife are Russian.
One of the reasons that Reinertsen can be successful in Murmansk today is that you do rely on the Norwegian contracts that you have in order to fuel your business. How do you feel that you stand in comparison to your competitors here in Russia?
With the Norwegian experience, when it comes to offshore oil and gas projects, there are competitors, very clever competitors, but the experience, you get that over a ocuple of years, so I think we are standing quite well, and due to the fact that we have already three Russian contracts in engineering, kirinskoye oil and gas field in the north east, working with Nippigas and Niigas, working together on one of these contractors as a subcontractor for FMC, that shows that competence we have is well received. Things are going so rapidly now, and we are tendering contracts all the way, and, moreover, I think that the decision makers now have become so professional in Gazprom, Rosneft, that they look at the content, experience and facilities, and I really feel that we are online with the Russian competitors.
We understand that transferring competency and technologies is the number one task here, as it was in great Britain, the states and in Norway 20 years ago. That’s nothing strange, and we take part in the transfer every day. we are paying our taxes here, we are feeling well.
It is very good news to hear that you have signed three contracts already, including Shtokman…
Yes, one of the three contracts is for flow lines in phase II and III of Shtokman as well. We need to remember that Shtokman is Shtokman – even if they have postponed the project, it is not over. People have a tendency to think that everything is over, that investment will stop. That is not the case at all. We are tendering, we are going for this as well as the other fields.
We are focusing on building a relationship with Gazprom because they are going to be the key to the Russian offshore industry.
Is that a sentiment that you share as well?
We are building relations with the key clients, and, of course, Statoil has been our biggest client for the last thirty years, but we are also working with our neighbours. We also work for many of Gazprom’s daughter companies, and I would say that the best relation you build is not during talks and meetings but when you work together on projects. That’s what we have had during the last half a year, we have now been able to go on to this level where we actually start working with them on projects.
Speaking about your capabilities here in Murmansk… You will be working with a new technology for the Mongstad project. How will that potential affect the way that your company will grow here in the years to come in terms of your abilities to compete for tenders?
We will reach, when finishing the Mongstad project, about 60% of our capacity where we are today, before we expand, so that will obviously give us potential to do 400,000 manhours. That’s the mongstad project. We will have 450 people, and the maximum capacity we can offer is 800. About 1.5 million man hours would be the capacity. If you look at the pipe racks, and the land tanks, and the pre-assembled units we are going to do for mongstad with the new technology, and this is as if we are working on the Shtokman project. Why should tibirke be different? Of course, there will be some kind of different technology. So for us, we are in a very good position when they do the Norwegian projects. We are working with the Russian projects when they come. We are gearing up, and we will finish mongstad in a year, a year and a half, then we are in the running to take on new projects. I would say, and this again is a statoil project. I need to underline that without statoil, knowing that we are competent, that we deliver on time with high quality, it would have been very hard for us. So of course, the relationship with statoil remains very important, and of course, statoil are building relationships with Gazprom.
Talking about the future a little, you’ve been here for two years with Reinertsen, it really is only the beginning for you. If we were to come back in ten years, where would you like the company to be here in Murmansk specifically? Where would you like your capacity to be split in terms of Russian projects versus Norwegian projects, what kind of size would you like to be at, what kind of projects would you like to be working on?
Since our main competence is in engineering, subsea, flowlines and risers, I would personally hope that we have built up a good engineering foundation in Russia where we focus on Murmansk. When it comes to projects, I hope that Reinertsen will get into the Russian projects and become a supplier on the same lines as everyone else. I hope it will be the same in ten years' time. I would also like to underline that at that time Reinertsen will be considered as an asset in Murmansk region. It is not only about making profit. You are investing something more than that. Norwegian companies are now doing a 20-25 million euro investment in Murmansk. For a family company, that is a considerable amount of money. I have been working in the social sphere a lot, and I think it's important to take on this social responsibility, understanding that we are creating jobs and care about the local schools, orphanages and the people, and make Reinertsen a positive brand for the local Governor and the local authorities.
Our main message would be that Reinertsen should be a cornerstone within the oil and gas industry in Murmansk, delivering quality products with engineering and fabrication but also showing social activity. I feel very proud that we are supporting Russian companies, doing HSE and quality training with them so that they get this technology transfer, and work with people every day. Taking on social responsibility is written in the Norwegian parliamentary message that says that Norwegian companies working outside Norway are obliged to have a policy of social responsibility. For instance, we train young college students as platers and welders, and I feel proud to see young people growing and showing good quality.
| Company: | REINERTSEN公司 |
| Position: | 总经理 |
| Country: | 俄罗斯 |