The New Plymouth-headquartered group, which has a Melbourne marketing arm, can now offer local drilling operators the same level of accredited service that can be obtained in major oil and gas centres, and has the right to use the API monogram on rotary drill stem products.
The API approval followed the development of a dedicated machining centre for drill stems of up to 12m long.
The facility has a large computerised numerical control (CNC) lathe and mechanical handling for safe and efficient operation. A climate-controlled room ensures the dimensions of the gauges used for machining the drilling equipment do not change.
FEGL serves a range of industries. Recent oil and gas jobs include fabricating the Pohokura topsides module, being a major subcontractor for the Pohokura onshore production station, and winning the $A5.3 million contract to provide mid-water arches and associated equipment for the offshore Taranaki Tui Area oil project.
Another Taranaki engineering company also recently gained API certification. Earlier this month New Plymouth’s Amtec Engineering said it had become the first company in New Zealand and Australia to gain API Quality Management Registration ISO/TS 2901, 2000 and the first in New Zealand with API Spec Q1.
