15/01/2003

Brazil finds Fast way to cut oil pollution thanks to NI firm

Petrobras, Brazil’s biggest business and the world’s 12th largest oil company, has ordered equipment from Fast Engineering in Antrim as part of its strategy to counter pollution.

Fast signed a deal with state-owned Petrobras following participation on an Invest NI stand at the Rio Oil and Gas Exhibition and World Petroleum Expo in Rio de Janeiro in September. The order was the first secured by the Northern Ireland company from the oil producer.

Petrobras will locate FASTANKs – a highly portable containment tanks pioneered by the Northern Ireland company – at a series of counter pollution bases along the coast of Brazil in the event of oil spills.

Welcoming the contract between Fast Engineering and Petrobras, Alan Hingston, Invest NI’s Trade Director, said: “Fast Engineering is a fine example of a small business which has become an international leader in a niche sector through continuous investment in trade and innovation.

“The company has used a broad range of trade services, including missions and exhibitions, to support an aggressive export strategy. By maintaining close contacts with its target markets Fast Engineering has been able to pinpoint opportunities to add value to its products.

“Our participation at Rio Oil and Gas is part of an ongoing programme of activities for this important sector. Over the past year, we’ve provided opportunities for Northern Ireland companies to build contacts with the oil and gas industries in the North Sea, Norway and in key Middle East markets including Iran."

The order now means that virtually all the world’s oil exploration companies now depend on FASTANKs for spill emergencies.

Fast Engineering, which employs 10 people at Antrim, has also supplied tanks for use by Russian exploration companies on the remote Sakhalin Island. In addition, the company recently worked round-the-clock to meet the demand for its tanks from emergency teams tackling the huge oil spill on Spain’s northern coastline.

(MB)

Related Northern Ireland Business News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

24 March 2004
'Brenda' North Sea oil find 'significant', says oil company
A Canadian-based oil exploration firm have announced that test drilling at 'Brenda' in the North Sea has revealed a "significant" find. Analysis of the flow from the Paleocene Forties sandstone in the Outer Moray Forth during production testing operations produced no water or sand during the test period, said Oilexco.
25 March 2004
Shell signs deal to re-enter Libya
Shell has signed a strategic deal with Libya's state-owned oil company to re-enter the Libyian oil exploration market. The landmark agreement between Shell and the National Oil Corporation of Libya coincided with a visit today to Tripoli by British Prime Minister Tony Bair who met with Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
10 June 2002
UK manufacturing goods price rise
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have said that goods manufactured in the UK fetched slightly higher prices in May. The ONS said the price of goods leaving factory gates rose by 0.3% in May thanks to increases in tobacco, petroleum and other manufactured goods prices, however the annual rate fell to just 0.1%.
19 April 2012
Mount Mills Races Ahead With Sales Of Healthy Flax Oil To Equine Industry
Mount Mills, the Newry-based manufacturer of cold-pressed flax oil for the equine industry, has won business from a leading racing stud in Dubai, one of the world’s major horse racing and breeding centres, in the United Arab Emirates. The new contract from the Emirates is the most recent won by the farm-based enterprise in international markets.
05 November 2014
Antrim Firm Scoops Business In China
Fast Engineering in Antrim has been assisted by Invest Northern Ireland to win business worth around £100,000 in China. The company is supplying its portable FASTANK liquid storage systems for environmental clean-up operations at a major chemical plant in Shanghai.