At a time of significant industrial growth and investment in Bahrain, news that Furmanite, the technical services company geared to maximising asset uptime, has just established its first direct on-the-ground presence in the country will be welcomed by industry operators from oil and gas, refining and petrochem to metals and other process industries seeking to keep their assets operating efficiently to maximise on the current buoyant climate.

Furmanite reports that it is seeing significant demand for its services, and indeed has set up its office in Bahrain (which was previously serviced by licensees in other Middle East territories) in direct response to customer demand.
“Bahrain’s growth and investment in its refining and petrochem industries, as well as other industrial sectors, plus its location as a hub of the Middle East, make for a positive climate in which to invest with the establishment of our first direct Middle East presence, demonstrating our commitment to the region,” Furmanite business development manager Mike Tucker said.
“Technologies and services that allow vital maintenance to be undertaken without shutdown, unscheduled downtime to be avoided, and help keep planned shutdowns to a minimum have a high value,” he said. 
‘And many of the services also have a valuable role in the capex sector with new constructions and plant expansions.  Having a permanent direct presence in the country is key to delivering these with the speed, quality and level of service that will ensure maximum benefit to operators.”
A number of Furmanite’s services – such as on-line pressure leak sealing, Trevitest on-line safety/relief valve testing and on-site machining – are already well known in the region, but will now be offered with added reassurance to operators.
“Through our Bahrain office we can ensure such services are offered with the assurance of maximum safety and quality,” Tucker explains.
“We now have the advantage of fully qualified and experienced Furmanite technicians, all Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel (SQEP) trained, based locally in Bahrain. 
“All work they carry out will be in full accordance with our rigorous risk assessments and procedures, and with the support of our UK engineering resource and health and safety department.
“There have been some misconceptions in the past with similar services from other providers being attributed as Furmanite’s when in fact they are not.  Only those delivered by us are Furmanite services, and they come with fully quality and safety assurances.” 
Broader services
Moreover, a number of services will now be available to operators in Bahrain and other Middle East countries that were not previously, or to only a limited extent, including pipeline intervention, composite repair technology and FurmaSeal leak sealing clamps.
Tucker points out that substantial demand for pipeline intervention (hot tapping and line stopping) services has been identified in the region, which Furmanite is now well placed to meet.
These services allow repairs, maintenance, and modifications to be undertaken while operation continues uninterrupted – from general repairs to changing out a malfunctioning valve or other equipment, installing instrumentation, or to tie in new branches or re-route lines (this last being particularly relevant to plant expansions and new build).
Following Furmanite’s acquisition last year of Flowserve GSG including Ipsco it now offers an extended capability at large diameters, high pressures and temperatures, and on large scales requiring multiple hot taps. 
Similarly, composite repair technology allows permanent repairs and strengthening to be undertaken with no hotwork, while operation continues, so that problems such as corrosion and wall thinning, holes or cracking can be resolved without the need for shutdown – again representing significant benefits.
And FurmaSeal clamps offer high value for rapid on-line leak sealing, with operators increasingly electing to hold a number of FumaSeal clamps as contingency measures to be applied immediately in case of need, to minimise the cost and operational impact should a leak occur.
Equally controlled bolting, a service for which Furmanite is already known, will now be offered with the backing of the full Pressure System Integrity (PSI) Management service, launched by the company last year.
The service, geared to eliminating critical joint failure, manages every stage from engineering analysis of the joint, unbolting, inspection and machining as required, to gasket installation, assembly, and controlled bolting.
This is all undertaken with full electronic documentation offering real-time status reporting for both Furmanite and the customer, and a full traceability with a comprehensive record of each critical joint that can be accessed for future maintenance planning.
Moreover, Tucker emphasises that closer support direct from the UK means operators in the region will be able to benefit from very latest technologies and services Furmanite offers – and that the company is committed to extending its portfolio with a number of new additions.
He also revealed that Furmanite will be looking for Bahraini partners to work with to provide a manufacturing resource.
And he divulged that the company is already in discussion with some of the major players in the region regarding provision of a permanent core team presence at refineries and petrochem plants, pointing out that this is one of the ways in which operators can gain maximum benefit from Furmanite’s services and expertise through a proactive approach. 
Tucker reiterates that the company has had enormous interest from most of the key players in Bahrain, wanting services direct from Furmanite but delivered from a local base.
Its first Middle East office is now open, headed up by Khairy Ahmed, BSc Hons, a qualified mechanical engineer who has an extensive knowledge of Furmanite and its services and operation (having worked for over 10 years for the company’s UAE licensee), plus an in-depth knowledge of the Middle East market.
“We’ll now be able to offer a wider range of services, to a high quality and safety standard, from which industry will benefit,” Tucker confirms.  “And because of Bahrain’s central location with easy access to other Middle East countries, we’ll be able to offer an increased level of service to all territories, whether direct or in support of our existing licensees in the region.”