Vallourec chooses Balance for entry into oil and gas eCommerce

VALLOUREC, GLOBAL LEADER in premium tubular solutions for the energy markets and industrial applications, has partnered with B2B eCommerce payments company, Balance for its new online platform, Behub-e. The online marketplace enables global energy and industrial market players to interact and transact online. It allows the companies to securely facilitate payments online with multiple sellers worldwide.

“The ability to include net terms sets Balance apart. Vallourec is continuing to grow our marketplace with this simple, allin-one checkout experience,” said Geoffroy de Roffignac, director of online business at Vallourec.

In April 2022, Vallourec launched Behube to offer its B2B customers the ability to transact with the ease of everyday consumers.

“Balance is opening the door to global trade for thousands of buyers and sellers like never before. There is an increasing need for payment solutions with real-time net terms so that customers can enjoy instant payouts and zero risk. Balance is committed to owning the entire B2B checkout experience,” said Bar Geron, cofounder and CEO of Balance.

Vallourec provides benchmark tubular solutions for the energy sectors and other applications — from oil and gas wells in extreme conditions to next-generation power plants, architectural projects and extremely high-performing mechanical equipment.

Vallourec’s new online marketplace opens its top-tier inventory of steel products and equipment to companies –big and small – from around the world.

Oil & gas top choice for energy sector workers

THE OIL AND gas sector is the most popular one for energy workers looking to change roles, and the Middle East is increasingly attractive for oil and gas workers seeking overseas transfers, according to Airswift’s Global Energy Talent Index (GETI), the comprehensive energy workforce trends report.

The report reveals that the Middle East has supplanted North America as the second choice destination, as workers are drawn by the lure of low taxes and booming infrastructure development.

The recent gas price crisis has transformed oil and gas into the most popular sector for energy workers looking to change roles, and has sent salaries soaring above pre-pandemic levels. With oil and gas majors posting record profits, 44% of oil and gas workers saw their pay increase last year and two-thirds expect further salary rises next year. Salaries are being inflated by fierce competition for oil and gas talent. Big pay packets are also driving high job satisfaction, with 69% of oil and gas workers declaring themselves satisfied in their current positions.

ESG concerns are now among the top three reasons for choosing employers, according to the report. With just 11% of the oil and gas workforce in the survey composed of women, and female employees also more likely to say their views are ignored at work, improving diversity could also be key to retaining and attracting an ESG-conscious workforce.

Janette Marx, CEO at Airswift, said, “In the wake of the recent sanctions on Russia, soaring fossil fuel profits have made oil and gas the most attractive energy sector and turned this into an employees’ market. An increasingly high-paid, indemand oil and gas workforce is now empowered to choose employers based on their environmental and social performance as well as pay. This is an opportunity for employers to compete for talent on other differentiators beyond salaries, from decarbonisation to diversity.”

Ilda Andaluz, executive vice president of Global Human Resources at Varel Energy Solutions, added, “The Covid-19-era ‘Great Resignation’ combined with the recent resurgence of fossil fuel production and prices has opened major skills gaps across oil and gas and it now takes up to three times longer to fill every position. Yet growing digitalisation has created increasing skills synergies with industries such as technology that could help us grow the workforce and reduce labour costs ”