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Container World www.containerworld.co.za
Container World
Container World is already the leading name in Africa's container industry. But as the oil and gas market throughout the continent continues to expand, the company is set to enjoy even more rapid growth.
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stablished in 1983,Container World has proved itself as a dependable and flexible firm specializing in the sale, rental and conversions of new and pre-owned marine containers. With a turnover of more than 400 million rand, this has placed it at the forefront of a sector that remains a crucial part of the continent's shipping industry.
A key part of these offerings are containers built specifically for offshore oil rigs. Along with the standard shipping and supply ship units, Container World also offers accommodation, offices and workshops, along with boat-shaped floating skips for the lifting and transportation of non-hazardous waste to and from offshore platforms.
Unsurprisingly, this has taken the company far away from its roots in South Africa. Operating across the east and south, Pascal Vidal, the head of its oil and gasfocused offshore division, says that Container World is now “doing a lot of business on the west coast as well”. “Of course,” he continues, “we are very well known in South Africa – we have been around for 31 years now. And we have a very good reputation across Southern Africa as a whole.” The formula for this, he adds, is simple.“It's down to being active for over three decades, providing quality equipment and keeping our word. That's good enough. We're always improving our services too.”
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Branching out
This has led to opportunities in some of Africa's key oil and gas producers. The firm is currently close to beginning operations through a project in Angola that Vidal describes as “more than a joint venture”. “The company has been created and is already registered,” he continues.“One of our directors has been named on the board and we will be fully operational early next year. We're just completing the administrative tasks now, such as bank accounts and finalising the investment. We're required to put money in the country but it's only a million dollars.” “The company will not be called Container World but will provide the same type of services – the sale and conversions of 3
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It's down to being active for over three decades, providing quality equipment and keeping our word. That's good enough. We're always improving our services too.
containers, pre-fabricated containers and offshore equipment. All the support will be coming from South Africa.” This seems like a wise decision. Angola is Africa's second largest oil producer, having recently been overtaken by Nigeria. Yet the two countries have been vying for the title for some time now and while Nigeria is facing numerous challenges in the form of instability, oil theft and an uncertain environment for investors due to the longdelayed Petroleum Industry Bill, Angola's
output is rising fast. “Angola has a lot of potential, especially with the new pre-salt discoveries in the South, says Vidal.“They are on track to double production over the next five years. “We've been in the Angolan market for more than 12 years now,” he adds.“It's a neighbouring country, but it can be very difficult to collect payment from customers. When we are there, our clients can pay in their local currency, the Kwanza. But with us being investors our dividends will be very easy to expatriate back to South Africa.”
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Angola has a lot of potential, especially with the new pre-salt discoveries in the South. They are on track to double production over the next five years.”
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Opportunities
Albertine basin in 2006, and the bulk of commercial production in the country is now expected to begin in 2017, once a new export pipeline and refinery are built.
Moving forward, there are even more opportunities on the horizon too. “In the future, we're looking to work in Madagascar,” Vidal says.“That may start quite soon. Also, there's a major new development that will be a focus for us in Uganda. Even though it is inland, the activity on Lake Albert means that containers are still required.”
At the same time, Vidal states that the company will soon be very active in Chad – another country that it is pushing forward its nascent oil sector. This could see it double output to 260,000 bpd by 2016 – a figure that could have a significant impact on one of the poorest nations in the world.
Huge reserves of oil were discovered in the
“We're looking to a new project in Senegal too, which will become an oil producer within three to four years,” he adds.“There's
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Miguel dos Santos
Pascal Vidal
Goretti Teixeira
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Mauritania too, and all the time we'll carry on servicing our existing markets as we do.” This, he admits, will not be without its challenges. “We know that as this activity increases, so does the competition. For us we don't see it as a fight, it mean us adapting our approach, knowing that there won't just be two or three companies on the market, but six or seven. Our method may be slightly different, but that won't affect product quality.”
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Contact Details Container World Durban Head Office 101 Musgrave Park 18 Musgrave Road Durban, 4001 E-mail: info.dbn@containerworld.co.za P O Box 50502 Musgrave Road 4062 Tel: +27 31-201 2226 Fax: +27 31-202 3904 A/c Fax: +27 31-202 1648 Other Offices at: www.containerworld.co.za
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