This is the first in a series of articles which Valve World intends to run, focusing on the procurement of process equipment by purchasing executives with engineering design and construction companies. The procurement function in an oil and gas industry engineering design firm has changed dramatically since the last great energy boom in the early 1980s. Many of the challenges are similar, yet there are marked differences as well. Perhaps the greatest challenge in today's marketplace is related to steel delivery, regardless of whether it is pressure vessel quality plate, alloy steel castings, mild steel forgings and shapes. For the past few years, this shortage was driven by what has been referred to as "The China Effect", caused by that nation's burgeoning economy and exploding demand for raw materials to fuel both internal consumption and expanding export.
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