Global Tic Leader Expects Higher Standards in Mexico

Q: How has the Energy Reform changed Bureau Veritas’ estimation of the importance of the Mexican energy sector in its global client and services portfolio?

A: Since we established operations in Mexico in 1982, the country’s energy industry has played an important role in our global portfolio of services and clients. With the opening of the market and the changes in PEMEX’s and CFE’s mission and business strategies, Mexico is clearly a key location for the future and a priority for our portfolio expansion. Mexican regulatory agencies are looking for a flexible normative benchmark aligned with international best practices that is not restrictive to the development of businesses. The new organization of the energy sector and the new organisms created after the Energy Reform, such as ASEA, clearly demonstrate a special concern for assuring the protection of the environment and the safety of workers. Because of this we hope to contribute more to the development of the Mexican energy industry. Bureau Veritas, as a global leader in Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) services, can help the energy sector meet the growing challenges of quality, safety, environmental protection, as well as social responsibility. The creation of ASEA, as a robust organization with a clear definition of its roles and responsibilities, is very favourable for TIC companies. After all, we are specialized in helping our clients achieve the main objectives set forth by this organism: to allow the exploration, production, transportation, and distribution of oil and gas in a safe and efficient way that ensures the protection of people and the environment.

Q: How does Bureau Veritas ensure it constantly meets the changing needs of its clients, improves the quality of its services, and expands its service offering?

A: Our external growth strategy is focused on complementing our business portfolio by means of acquiring companies that not only share our values, our code of ethics, and have a similar service offering, but also add innovations to our current portfolio. When we decide to externally complement our portfolio, we look to better satisfy the needs of our clients by fulfilling possible gaps in our service offering. We follow a similar approach to our training programs in Mexico. Our training services are based on a balance between the trends and requirements defined by the local market, innovations based on international trends, and our global experience. It is important to mention that Bureau Veritas seeks to replicate good business models in different countries. For this, it is essential to have a deep knowledge about of local markets so that our solutions can be successfully developed in any given country. Our strategy for developing economies has been to develop a flexible solution based on a successful model that respects the culture and demands of the new market rather than import a fixed solution from a mature country.

Q: What testing services do your facilities in Mexico provide on a standalone basis and how do they collaborate with Bureau Veritas’ facilities worldwide?

A: Bureau Veritas provides a wide range of inspection and laboratory testing services for all types of commodities, with a special focus on the oil and petrochemicals industry. Our testing services include oil, gas, and fuel testing, carried out according to international accreditations as required by oil and gas operators. Our testing facilities in Mexico are integrated with our facilities worldwide in such a way that we can provide full testing services. We opt to bring international best practices to the national industry in order to generate more efficient and safe projects in the country. Our services, however, not only apply during the CAPEX phase of the projects, but also during the OPEX stages. Through our global presence and continuous technological development, we are able to integrate different solutions for all stages of an asset, and thus allow for our clients’ management strategy to be implemented smoothly.

Q: What are the most crucial steps that can be taken by deepwater operators in Mexico to prevent accidents and mitigate risks?

A: In order to prevent accidents and mitigate risks in deepwater operations, as in any other risky activity, the first step is to comply with applicable standards and regulations, from design to procurement, construction, commissioning, and testing. Most of the accidents in this industry are caused by overconfidence in the performance of common tasks. This is one of the main reasons why TIC companies are so important to mitigate risks. After all, our core business is to assure the compliance of applicable standards and lowering the probability of a failure or accident.