Tenaris held its first technical forum for customer Sonatrach, Algeria's national oil company, in June 2011. With this event, Tenaris looked to present its oilfield technologies and related services while further strengthening its ties with Sonatrach.

The forum was organized in Hassi Messaoud, home to Algeria's energy industry and located 800 kilometers south of Algiers. Tenaris's presentations focused on Dopeless® coating as well as TenarisHydril Wedge™ and Blue™ Series premium connections.

Mr Mohammed Hank technical sales at Tenaris said that "Today Sonatrach is looking at operations in tougher conditions, and we are presenting them with our high performance products, which could meet their requirements."

Mr Nacer Yahiaoui drilling superintendent at Sonatrach said that "I had my doubts over using a new product but I have learned that Tenaris is able to send a field engineer to make sure that we are following the product's procedure."

The informative talks also focused on ISO qualifications.

Mr Salim Sator project manager from the drilling division at Sonatrach said that "We are very much interested in the ISO testing, which will help us for our specifications as we take on new challenges."

Following the success of this first event, the two companies will be organizing a series of other forums to discuss subjects such as material selection, corrosion and running practices.