Local capabilities backed by a global network

August 27, 2024

Arnaldo Govene, sales director of Project Materials Mozambique (PM Piping), talks to The Energy Year about the company’s involvement in large energy projects and overcoming infrastructural challenges to complete logistics jobs. PM Piping is an international company specialising in the supply of steel products to the energy sector.

What sets PM Piping apart from other operators in the field?
Being a group established all over the world gives us some advantages. Often, when tenders are won by international companies, it is at that time when they start establishing in the country, but our offices are run by locals who know their markets and have a track record. Local content regulations give us some advantages as well, but those rules are not well-defined everywhere yet.

 

Can you share some of your experiences with local content rules?
We try our best to meet all local content conditions. When the process is transparent, priority is given to companies that comply with requirements regarding the hiring of nationals and women, ownership by women and other requisites that we generally meet.

What are some of the most notable energy projects you have been involved with in Mozambique?
We have a contract with TotalEnergies, in partnership with Vallourec. Unfortunately, it was suspended due to the situation in Cabo Delgado. We expect it to resume once the project starts up again. We supply materials to many local EPC companies, but we mainly focus on large projects that don’t happen every day, and since the projects must pass feasibility studies, it takes a long time until the supply stage starts.
We are also involved in power generation and infrastructure projects. We want to participate in the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydropower Project, although the tendering process is very rigorous. We also have projects related to hydrogen as a transition fuel, supplying both steel products and equipment, a business that we started in 2021.

What is your assessment of Mozambique’s infrastructure and what do you think is needed to improve logistics operations in the country?
Mozambican roads need improvement. For example, in a supply contract with Sasol, we faced many challenges because it involved road transportation from the port, and the poor condition of some roads has had an impact on the products we supply. On one occasion, a shipment of coated pipes suffered damage during transportation due to poor road conditions and we had to repair many of them.

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