Tokyo-listed flowmeter manufacturer Oval Corporation is planning to become an approved provider of coriolis mass flow meters for bunkering at Singapore port by 2023.
L.Y. Hwang, Director / General Manager of Oval Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, shares the company’s offerings with readers of Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times through an interview:
MT: Could you kindly share with us the history of Oval and what does the brand represent?
Tokyo-listed Oval Corp was founded 70 years ago and manufactures flow meters such as positive displacement, mass, vortex, ultrasonic, electromagnetic meters for measurement of different types of liquid and gaseous medium.
Oval meters are installed in numerous market sectors with applications in process and custody flow measurement. The firm is the largest flow meter manufacturer in Japan and we’ve served major clients which includes Shell, Exxon, SRC, Pertamina, Petronas, PV oil, PTT, Petrobras, Aramco etc in the Oil & Gas sector and PCS, EGS, TPC, Denka etc for the petrochemical sector.
The marine sector represents one of our important markets and includes shipbuilding, repairs and conversions. Ship bunkering at Singapore used to be one of Oval’s major market in which we’ve supplied to the majority of the bunker tankers with our positive displacement meters for 35 years till the introduction of coriolis mass flow meters for bunkering.
MT: What makes the Singapore bunkering sector an attractive market for Oval to invest in?
Oval, as a manufacturer, views opportunities within Singapore bunkering with aspirations of the present and future as the trade evolves to include liquified natural gas and hydrogen which is already in the Oval product portfolio.
MT: As a prospective new entrant to the bunkering sector, what is the market penetration strategy for Oval?
As with all markets, our main penetration strategy is to be price competitive with the product and services. We provide in house engineering services in product, software development and remote support. As a major supplier to FPSO metering systems we ensure system integrity for our clients.
MT: What are the selling points of Oval MFMs over its competitors for bunkering MFMs?
The comparative advantages between all major suppliers are very narrow as the main criteria of the meter is the accuracy, repeatability and reliability. All these aspects are qualified by third party audits and certified by OIML and type approved by Enterprise Singapore. However, Oval is in the advance stage of testing mass meter integrity on disruption by magnets.
MT: At which stage is Oval at now, regarding to its application to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore as an official supplier for bunkering MFMs, and when do you expect OVAL to gain approval for this application?
We’ll start the application to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore before the end of 2022 and hopefully to receive approval within six months or sooner.
Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 4 October, 2022
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