Metso and Petrobras sign service contract covering 11 refineries in Brazil

Metso Corporation’s press release on March 28, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. local time

Metso and Brazilian energy company Petrobras have signed a service contract covering the supply of spare parts and maintenance services for Metso’s valves, actuators and positioners for 11 refineries in Brazil. The contract also includes intelligent tools for preventive and predictive maintenance planning developed by Metso.

Metso won the contract after the excellent performance of one Petrobras refinery in São Paulo, which was serving as a test pilot for two years. Satisfied with Metso’s commitment, valve quality and local service capabilities, Petrobras decided to expand the pilot contract for 10 of its other refineries in Brazil.

“During the testing period, Metso was able to demonstrate that its tools for managing valve inventories and spare part purchases proved to work in practice when targeting lower maintenance costs,’’ Mr. Candido Franco, from Petrobras explains.

“With this agreement, we have systematic standardization of the installed valve base, which makes it easier to manage valve inventories and valve maintenance. This has resulted in a positive impact on the capital tied to valve inventories,’’ Franco continues.

Another significant advantage for Petrobras is related to the capabilities of Metso’s intelligent tools to monitor and analyze valve condition while the process is running. Conventional methods require stopping the process, and removing and dismantling the valves for closer inspection.

Mr. Franco confirms that one key element in successful and economical valve maintenance is planning. “With the on-line monitoring tools, we can now plan our maintenance schedule in advance, so any disruption to the process is kept to a minimum. Also maintenance activities can be directly focused on those valves needing it most. A constant awareness of overall valve condition prevents unexpected breakdowns, which can result in stopping the process completely, which is extremely costly.’’

Metso’s strategy is to offer knowledge-based services close to its customers so the company’s global service network is continuously growing. Today, Metso has 27 service centers globally to secure customer’s valve maintenance. To secure the high level of service for Petrobras, Metso’s Brazilian service organisation has created an individual management for each contract, what give more flexibility to attend the customer needs. The collaboration is one of the cornerstones of Metso operations to keep a long-term customer relationship.

Petrobras – Petróleo Brasileiro S/A is a public traded company in Rio de Janeiro, which operates in 27 countries in the energy segment, prioritizing exploitation, production, refining, marketing and transportation of oil and its derivatives. Petrobras is the second biggest oil company with public trade around the world. It produces 1,978,000 oil barrels per day and 422,000 gas barrels per day. www.petrobras.com.br

Metso is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining, construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. We have about 28,500 employees in more than 50 countries. www.metso.com

Further information for the press, please contact:

Marcelo Motti, Vice President, Sales & Service, South America, Automation business line, Metso, Tel. +55 15 2102 9708