Safari Oil & Gas (SOG), a leading diversified supplier of products and services, intends to continue forging new partnerships with innovative international manufacturers and service providers to become a one-stop shop for Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas, hydrocarbon, petrochemical and water industries.

"By doing so, the company aims to further support the development, growth and progression of Saudi Arabia as a leading country in the global economy," says Abdullah M Tahlawi, Head of SOG’s Sales and Marketing.

SOG was established in 2007 and it is a member of the Safari Group, putting it in the top 50 Saudi Arabia companies’ listing. Safari Group has over 13,000 employees and an extensive catalogue of products and services in its own right.

SOG’s strength lies in its quick response to clients with optimal engineered solutions for pipelines experiencing internal and external corrosion. It has the ability to respond to leaks and provide appropriate sealing solutions that prevent fires, production loss, and costly shutdowns without any interruption to operations Tahlawi notes.

Carbon fibre repair in progress

Subsea inspection for pipeline and concrete structures supported by footage is also a service which SOG provides. It specialises in the use of composite systems (made from epoxy impregnated fibreglass and carbon fibre) utilised to restore the mechanical properties of corroded pipelines (onshore and offshore), and concrete structures to their design capacities. The fibreglass systems are also used to reinforce and protect structurally sound pipes for horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and micro tunnelling (MT).

Meeting all Saudisation requirements, SOG is focused on being a primary driver for the kingdom’s Vision 2030 and Aramco’s IKTVA programme, by establishing local manufacturing facilities (through joint ventures) which produce and provide innovative technologies and services, Tahlawi says.

One such venture is the exclusive agreement signed by SOG with Clock Spring Company (CS) for the distribution and utilisation of CS’s composite repair systems. Also, the firm successfully secured four Long Form Contracts for the repair of corroded and leaking pipes at multiple Sabic affiliates, and one of Aramco’s joint ventures.

Besides, SOG signed an exclusive Agency Agreement with Newtesol, a Spanish company which provides internal weld overlay services using Inconel 625 - a nickel based super alloy known for its resistance to corrosion and oxidisation.

Also, in 2017, the company acquired exclusivity for GCC distribution from Pipeotech, a Norwegian company which produces the Delta V-Seal (DVS) – a metal gasket that can be manufactured from different types of steel.

Recently, SOG signed an agreement with STATS Group, which is a leading provider of pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tap intervention, repair and shutdown services to the global oil and gas industry, says Tahlawi. STATS Group has access to a wide range of pipeline isolation techniques and offers a consultation service to assist operators in assessing the optimum solution for their pipeline isolation challenges, he points out. Its comprehensive range of products and services provide the highest practical pipeline isolation integrity for a vast variety of applications. STATS has invested significant capital in developing its subsea BISEP technology which is deployed when pressurised pipelines require to be isolated to allow repair, modification or tie-in activities.

The BISEP technology provides fail-safe double block and bleed isolation deployed through a single hot tap fitting, which offers significant safety advantages over traditional line stop technology.