New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) US-based Hunting Energy Services (Hunting) will set up a precision machine shop in a joint venture with homegrown steel pipes maker Jindal SAW at an initial investment amount of up to USD 25 million (about Rs 175 crore), a top company official said on Wednesday.
Addressing a virtual conference, Hunting PLC CEO Jim Johnson said it will be India’s first state-of-the-art premium OCTG threading plant, which will be set up in Nashik, Maharashtra.
While Jindal SAW will hold a 51 per cent stake in the JV, Hunting Energy will own the remaining 49 per cent.
The aim is to set up a world-class, state-of-the-art precision machine shop in India to thread premium connections for oil country tubular goods (OCTG), including accessories for markets across the globe, Jindal SAW had earlier said while announcing the JV plans with Hunting.
Johnson said the Indian OCTG market provides significant growth potential for Hunting. “We are delighted to have entered this joint venture agreement with Jindal SAW Ltd, leveraging our excellent working relationship since 2019. The initial investment in this JV will be around USD 20-25 million and the potential annual market size for Premium OCTG in India is close to USD 200 million”.
Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Hunting and Jindal SAW will build a dedicated premium connection threading facility in Nashik over an area of 1,30,000 sqft with an annual capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes. Both Hunting and Jindal SAW expect the facility to be operational by the end of 2022.
Neeraj Kumar, Global Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) and Whole Time Director (WTD), Jindal SAW Ltd said, “We are glad to join hands with Hunting Energy Services for this ground-breaking project. Our collective efforts and combined strengths will revolutionise the OCTG manufacturing sector and its usage in the domestic market”.
“Together with Hunting, we will become the first in line to have such a manufacturing facility in India. This JV will add value to our existing line of products and will develop the local ancillary service industry.” Jindal SAW is a manufacturer and supplier of steel pipe products, fittings and accessories with manufacturing facilities in India, the US, Europe and the UAE.
Hunting Energy Services manufactures premium, high-end downhole metal tools and components required to extract hydrocarbons across the well construction, completion and intervention stages of the well’s lifecycle. PTI ABI BAL BAL
