Bloomberg reported that Tenaris SA expects very strong demand from Petroleo Brasileiro SA as the company buys materials needed to tap offshore oilfields.

Mr Paolo Rocca CEO of Tenaris said that Petrobras is about to award pipe supply contracts to develop its so called pre salt discoveries. The finds include Tupi. He added that "We are taking advantage of this cycle of investment in Petrobras. In 2010 we expect pipelines and drilling activity to be very strong there."

It may be noted that Petrobras plans to spend USD 174.4 billion over the next 5 years, the world’s largest corporate investment plan. Tenaris is competing with Paris based rival Vallourec SA to supply the pipes needed to penetrate the oil fields resting under a layer of salt 3,000 meters beneath the Atlantic Ocean.

He said that Tenaris's Brazilian unit TenarisConfab is working on a feasibility study to test the pre salt area in Brazil, which runs 800 kilometers along the Brazilian coast. He added that Tenaris may expand production at its Tenaris Confab unit, without saying when.

(Sourced from www.bloomberg.net)