P.4 A HISTORY BUILT ON TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

P.8 INNOVATION: A STRATEGIC PRIORITY FOR VAM®

P.12 PROXIMITY AND SERVICES: TWO REASONS FOR THE LONGEVITY OF VAM®

P.14 OUTLOOK AND FUTURE CHALLENGES IN A CONSTANTLY CHANGING MARKET

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF VAM®

PREMIUM CONNECTIONS

Press kit

“

03

WE HAVE CONNECTED MORE THAN JUST TUBES: WE HAVE BROUGHT TOGETHER PEOPLE, COUNTRIES, AND PROJECTS.

Editorial "In 1965, Alexandre Madrelle and his team designed the first VAM® joint, a revolutionary innovation which gave a sealing ability that had never been achieved before. Since then, this product has become a brand which has 30 patented product ranges.

We are constantly innovating so that we can design solutions to meet the ever more complex needs of our customers. Our success is based on a solid balance between our global presence, which enables us to benefit from an unrivaled strike force, our unique expertise, which is based primarily on the constant development of our R&D capacity, and our understanding of our customers' needs, which relies on our close proximity to them and a precise knowledge of their supply chains.

This culture of cooperation and these assets have enabled us to be at the heart of our customers' operations and to continuously create value for them. We were, for example, the first on the premium connections market when VAM® was developed 50 years ago to exploit the deposits in Lacq in France, the first to develop solutions that were suitable for the pre-salt fields in Brazil, and also the first in unconventional deposits in the USA.

As well as these technical and technological achievements, with VAM® we have connected more than just tubes: we have brought together people, countries, and projects. These "meaningful connections," which is the theme for the 50th anniversary of VAM®, are actual individual accounts of the success of our model and the value that we are building with and for our customers.

At a time when the market, which is always evolving, is today more demanding than ever, premium connections and human connections must continue to go hand-in-hand. This is an essential issue that will allow us to continue meeting our customers' challenges – particularly those relating to safety, the environment and cost reduction – by adhering to our values of premium quality, competitiveness, proximity and collaboration."

”

DIDIER HORNET, SVP Eastern Hemisphere

04

A HISTORY

BUILT

ON TECHNOLOGICAL

AND ECONOMIC

CHALLENGES

For 50 years, VAM® has supported the development of the oil and gas industry. In order to keep up with the increasingly demanding challenges our customers face, Vallourec develops specific solutions that continue to set the bar of excellence higher and higher.

THE 1980s

VAM® BECOMES A GLOBAL STANDARD While the innovation work continued in product design, Vallourec adopted a policy to

develop its licensee network to ensure that there would be one single and unique quality

standard everywhere in the world. The license given to British Steel in 1973 (which

Vallourec subsequently acquired in 1994) marked a turning point as it enabled

Vallourec to access the North Sea market, which at the time was considered the most

technical market. VAM® then came to the attention of major national and international oil

and gas companies, a key step in offshore development.

Key dates:

• 1983: NEW VAM®, the second generation of

VAM® joints

• 1984: creation of VAM PTS (now called

VAM USA) with the acquisition of a threading plant in Houston, Texas as a joint venture with Sumitomo (now NSSMC).

• 1985: R&D agreement with Sumitomo

THE 1960s-1970s

VALLOUREC ENTERS THE PREMIUM JOINT MARKET The VAM

® adventure started with the Société Nationale des Pétroles d’Aquitaine

(SNPA, formerly Elf Aquitaine, now Total) which was exploring for gas in Lacq in southwestern France – a deposit with such a high concentration of sulfur that at the

time it was not thought to be very viable. As a result, sealed connections capable of performing in a highly corrosive H2S environment had to be developed and special types of steel had to be designed. Alexandre Madrelle, an engineer at Vallourec,

and his team took up the challenge and came up with the idea of combining a cone-shaped sealing surface with a stop inclined at a negative angle which would increase the tightness of the metal seal. This was the very first VAM

®.

Key dates:

• 1965: first VAM® patent

• 1976: VAM® FJL

TM, the first integral joint

06

A NEW TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGE WITH HIGH PRESSURE/HIGH TEMPÉRATURE DEPOSITS

It was in the North Sea that the first High Pressure/High Temperature (HP/HT) deposits were developed. At the time, these wells were considered impossible to operate because they were too dangerous. So the first VAM

® HW

TM (Heavy Wall)

was designed to withstand pressures which could get up to 1,000 bars.

These extremely critical wells encouraged customers to systematize

the qualification tests. Vallourec was the first company to work with the major companies to develop these test

protocols. At the end of the 1990s, the qualification tests were formalized with the API (American Petroleum Institute)

standard. The test conditions led Vallourec, in collaboration with Sumitomo, to develop the VAM

TOP

®,

which is today the most widely used premium connection in the world.

Key dates: • 1990: VAM

TOP

®, the most widely used threaded and

coupled connection in the world

• 1995: VAM® SLIJ II

TM, the new standard in semi-flush

• 1997: joint venture with Mannesmann, which enabled VAM

® to double its production capacity and enter the

Brazilian market • 1999: VAM®

HPTM, the first connection specifically for HP/HT wells.

SINCE 2000

EVER MORE DEMANDING TEST CONDITIONS WHICH LED TO THE CREATION OF VAM® 21TM

The deep offshore created new conditions, particularly in the pre-salt area in Brazil: wells

that are 7,000 m deep, approximately 2,000 m of water, and up to 2 km of salt layers to penetrate – conditions that are especially

critical since the pressures generated at these depths can damage the tubes. The requirements in terms of pressure and

resistance to compression increased.

The VAM® 21

TM is a very high-end product which

complies with the most stringent standards and

can be used in the most critical of conditions: HP/HT in the North Sea, very deepwater offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, the pre-salt fields

of Brazil, deep offshore in West Africa, particularly in Angola, and developing HP/HT wells in southeastern Asia, particularly in

Malaysia.

Key dates: • 2001: VAM

TOP

® FE

TM, the first joint for riser towers

• 2007: VAM® Express

TM, a high-performance connection for

drill strings • 2008: VAM® 21TM, the most advanced high-tech solution

THE 1990s

8

INNOVATION, A STRATEGIC

PRIORITY

FOR VAM®

Since the first VAM® patent was filed 50 years ago, Vallourec has made innovation one of the main focuses of its strategy. In 2014, the Group invested €95.7 million in research and development.

Vallourec has a total of three VAM® connection development and test centers in France, the USA and Indonesia, and will soon have a new VAM® test laboratory in Brazil, and six R&D centers in France, Germany, Brazil and the USA.

LEADING R&D PARTNERS Successful synergies developed with a number of partners have enabled the Vallourec group to maintain its technological

progress. The Group develops R&D programs with leading partners in their areas of business, whether they are manufacturers, suppliers, customers or university laboratories,

and this is the case all around the world. A few examples of partnerships:

LONG-STANDING PARTNERS • NSSMC for the development of VAM® connections

• Tubacex for the development of stainless steel

• The Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschungsinstitut in Duisburg, a long-

standing research partner for improving production processes.

CUSTOMER PARTNERSHIPS As R&D is a process of continuous communication with customers, the

Group works closely with some customers to develop solutions that meet their own operational needs.

• Petrobras : development of solutions for the pre-salt fields off the coast

of Brazil

• Total: premium connections for HP/HT wells • BP: drill pipes for horizontal drilling, tubes, and connections for riser towers

UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS

Finally, Vallourec participates in basic research with several university laboratories around the world. • Mines ParisTech (France) • RWTH Aachen University (Germany) • Carnegie Mellon (USA) • Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil)

R&D DEVELOPMENT IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH MARKET NEEDS Until 2008, R&D activity was based in France, in Aulnoye-Aymeries, where all design projects were carried out. Customer qualification tests were,

however, shared between France and the USA.

Following Vallourec's merger with the premium

connection company Atlas Bradford, the American R&D team was integrated into the Group and the research center in Houston was strengthened.

This was an opportunity for VAM® to develop its

presence in the shale gas market, which at the

time was growing rapidly in the region, with innovative products to meet the specific

conditions encountered by customers at these wells. It was also an opportunity to provide

solutions for the major companies in the Gulf of

Mexico, which needed custom-made products for their

particularly complex offshore projects.

10

NEARLY 30 PATENTED PRODUCT RANGES

6 R&D CENTERS IN FRANCE, GERMANY, BRAZIL AND THE USA

3 TEST CENTERS: AULNOYE-AYMERIES (FRANCE), HOUSTON (USA), BATAM (INDONESIA)

MORE THAN 500 R&D ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS AROUND THE WORLD

A KEY CHALLENGE: TO RECREATE PHYSICAL CONDITIONS TO GUARANTEE EXCELLENCE Because the conditions that oil and gas stakeholders have to work with are ever more demanding, the

Group has invested more and more heavily in test centers where each new product range can be developed and tested.

VAM® test center in Aulnoye-Aymeries (France)

The development work carried out at the center focuses on the design of premium threaded connections, the development of proprietary steel grades,

and the industrialization of threading lines. It is supplemented by capacity for full-scale testing where the sealing of the VAM

® connections is tested in the

most extreme conditions.

In January 2014, Vallourec announced its decision to expand its VAM®

connection development and test center in Aulnoye-Aymeries in France's Nord department in order to double its capacity.

1. 2.

VAM® test center in Houston (USA)

The expansion of the VAM® connection test center in Houston is designed to

meet the increased demand for certification to demonstrate compliance with new standards which cover the most extreme well conditions. The work

focuses specifically on testing products for exploiting shale hydrocarbons and on offshore projects for the Gulf of Mexico. This test center will enable Vallourec to double its R&D capacity dedicated to designing and testing its

premium connections in the USA.

3. 4.

1. VAM® test center, Aulnoye-Aymeries

(France) VAM® test center in Batam (Indonesia)

Vallourec also has capacity for testing in Indonesia via its subsidiary PT Citra Tubindo (PTCT), which carries out the heat treatment and threading of OCTG tubes and VAM

® connections for the Indonesian and Asia-Pacific

markets. 2. VAM® test center, Houston (USA) 3. VAM® test center, Batam (Indonesia) 4. VAM® test center, Belo Horizonte (Brazil)

VAM® test center in Belo Horizonte (Brazil)

The VAM

® test center in Belo Horizonte will be operational end of 2015 and will

primarily serve Petrobras’ needs.

12

PROXIMITY

AND SERVICES: TWO REASONS FOR

THE LONGEVITY OF VAM®

Whatever the needs of the customer, VAM® provides a comprehensive solution that includes products, services, technical assistance and a distribution network that covers the whole world, wherever our customers are operating.

THE VAM® FIELD SERVICE: ENGINEERS ON THE GROUND 7 DAYS A WEEK, 24 HOURS A DAY The VAM

® Field Service has a team of nearly 230 site engineers who can be

contacted at any time to go to platforms and install our products. The engineers ensure that the VAM

® connections are working correctly and

ensure well integrity.

So that they can be as close as possible to their customers, VAM® Field

Service centers are located everywhere in the world: Great Britain, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Angola, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, India and

Australia.

VAM® AUDITORS GUARANTEE THE QUALITY OF THE LICENSEE NETWORK Today there is a network of more than 200 licensees which ensures that VAM

®

connections and accessories meet the same quality standard in all countries around the world. Vallourec has

implemented a system that works to qualify, inform, train and conduct regular quality audits with a dedicated team of

VAM® auditors.

50 INDUSTRIAL SITES FROM STEEL MILLS TO FINISHING UNITS

11 VAM® FIELD SERVICE CENTERS WITH MORE THAN 230 ENGINEERS WHO ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK TO ENSURE THAT THE

VAM® CONNECTIONS ARE WORKING CORRECTLY AND TO ENSURE WELL INTEGRITY

A GLOBAL SALES

FORCE AND A GLOBAL NETWORK OF TECHNICAL SALES

TEAMS.

MORE THAN 200 VAM® LICENSEE PARTNERS TO ENSURE THE SAME QUALITY STANDARD IS USED BY ALL

PARTIES

14

OUTLOOK

AND FUTURE CHALLENGES

IN A CONSTANTLY

CHANGING

MARKET

Today, the market is influenced by two opposing trends. The first is the end of the "easy oil" days, which will mean customers developing in areas that are increasingly difficult to exploit. And the second is an increasing need to reduce costs in order to cope with a market where barrel prices have dropped. The development of VAM® aims to find solutions for these two trends.

TWO SEGMENTS TO ADDRESS: THE « BARE ESSENTIALS » SEGMENT AND THE VERY HIGH-END SEGMENT In the effort to reduce costs, the trend is to standardize products wherever conditions so permit. Customers want to be offered "bare essential" products that are perfectly suited to the conditions of their wells. In addition, customers in this segment pay close attention to those solutions that make it possible to reduce stock levels or speed up time frames.

However, the critical high-end market is also at the heart of the challenges facing the industry. This involves being able to develop custom-

made solutions and at the same time being able to adapt the tubes and connections to meet ever more advanced technological requirements.

VAM® PRIORITIES FOR CURRENT AND FUTUR NEEDS In order to address this apparent contradiction, Vallourec relies on its key assets, namely its capacity for innovation, its integrated

approach from supplier to operator, and the way it operates in partnership with its customers to create a win-win situation for all. This comprehensive approach also enables the Group to optimize and continuously reduce its customers' Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

The Group also aims to offer its customers environmentally friendly solutions. This is the rationale behind the CLEANWELL® range of

products. Instead of using greases, this product range contains a non-polluting coating for threaded connections that also provides effective protection against jamming and corrosion. This group of coatings is being expanded so that it can be used in a wide range of different products.

Finally, improving the supply chain by working on traceability is essential, and this is one of Vallourec's main priorities. The idea is to be able to monitor exactly where the tubes are and track their operating status in real time as a way of meeting our customers'

needs as much as possible.

VAM®: 50 YEARS

OF «MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS»

For 50 years, VAM® premium connections have been connecting more than just tubes: they connect men, women, projects, and countries. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of these meaningful connections, our customers, employees, and partners around the world are invited to share what VAM® has meant for them and to tell their stories of the human and business connections generated over the years. "Our VAM® stories" is a collaborative web platform, running throughout 2015 and open to contributions from all who have played a part in the history of VAM®. It is an opportunity to illustrate the long-term relationships of trust that Vallourec has built with its customers and partners. But it is also an opportunity to show the commitment of our employees to foster the Group's values: innovation, excellence, proximity, networking, and confidence. Read the stories at www.vam50years.com

PRESS CONTACT Héloïse Rothenbühler Media relations manager Tel.: +33 (0)1 41 03 77 50 heloise.rothenbuhler@vallourec.com

VAM® is a registered trademark of the Vallourec group.