Preferred Supplier Agreement Takes Shape Off Coast of Angola...continued Dresser-Rand was the sole source of turbo equipment and ChevronTexaco agreed to waive all specifications and use pre-configured templates. “This allows us to populate the template with equipment we’re offering on the project,” Nove explained from his base in Houston. “There’s no master template for all of ChevronTexaco. We’re developing templates that are business unit-specific, such as offshore Angola.”  According to Nove, ChevronTexaco has separate business units and design and equipment needs vary from unit to unit. For example, offshore Angola differs from nearby offshore Nigeria. “These are separate business units, each with its unique – yet similar – requirements and specifications.” Mander emphasizes the success of the Configurator-designed templates. “The key improvement is standardization,” he said. “By using the Configurator, we have developed some site-specific, country-specific templates. All specifications are predetermined, so neither party has to reengineer the equipment.”  Results of the preferred supplier agreement will fall in line with ChevronTexaco’s “excellence initiative,” Mander said. He’s anticipating improvements in reliability, safety, environmental impact, and availability. “And when the unit gets to the field it will be field-friendly.”  The ChevronTexaco preferred supplier agreement is the latest evolutionary step in client services for Dresser-Rand. Statoil, Norway’s state-owned oil company, began the process with a frame agreement shortly after Dresser-Rand introduced the DATUM turbocompressor in 1995. Other agreements exist with BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Marathon Ashland Petroleum, and Duke Energy. “When clients such as these select Dresser-Rand as their supplier of choice it is testimony to the value we bring clients with our technology, business processes, and support capabilities,” reported Swan. “We’re also offering the client the full range of our aftermarket services,” said Ken Schoeneck, director of Turbo Engineered Solutions for Dresser-Rand in Olean. “There is a lot of the new technology in our new equipment that we are able to bring to the aftermarket, and provide solutions to ChevronTexaco that will yield greater productivity and reliability in previously installed equipment.”  The application of new technology to existing compressors applies to Dresser-Rand and to non-Dresser-Rand supplied OEM equipment. “Today Dresser-Rand has a dedicated group organized and focused on applying Dresser-Rand proprietary technology in non-Dresser-Rand turbomachinery to improve productivity and reduce life cycle costs,” Schoeneck said.  In the aftermarket portion of the contract, various discounts are given for parts, repair, service, and rerates, he explained. Discounts depend on the level of activity over a specified time. “There are 11 unique categories for discounts,” he said.  More than the discounts, though, are the value of the results, Schoeneck said. “We can increase productivity, decrease maintenance costs, and increase reliability. ChevronTexaco is going to see results both inthe short term and in the long term. After two or three years they will see decreases in lost production costs. We’re making careful measurements to accurately report cost savings from production and maintenance. We want to clearly demonstrate our effectiveness and become a strategic partner as opposed to a transactional supplier.”  Dresser-Rand has an established track record with ChevronTexaco. “We recently supplied compressors for ChevronTexaco’s Sanha Project for high-pressure injection offshore Angola, which was awarded before the preferred supplier agreement,” Swan noted. “We had a long-established, excellent relationship before the agreement on which we are building.”