POSCO has been advancing its moves to expand its market share of steel products that go into energy facilities and recently signed an exclusive contract to supply 88,000 tons of 11 kinds of steel plates that are to be used in the construction of floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities being built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., the steelmaker said recently.

It is the first time that a steelmaker will supply all of the steel plates needed to build FPSO facilities by a shipyard thanks to the excellent quality of the steel plates, which are strong against rust and can be used in diverse ways and have the capacity to meet changes in the supply dates, meeting all kinds of safety standards and requirements.

Offshore, a popular shipbuilding magazine in the United States, praised the fact that POSCO has been chosen to supply all of the steel plates needed to build the FPSO, which is very rare in the steel industry, in recognition of POSCO’s ability to produce excellent quality steel plates for the energy industry.

POSCO began R&D activities for the development of steel products for the energy industry in 2000 and has been able to develop 23 kinds of steel plates. In 2011, the steelmaker signed a contract with Shell Oil to supply steel plates for all types of offshore oil facilities to be built by Shell until 2016.

POSCO also signed an MOU with GE of the United States to develop steel products for the energy industry and the technologies to use them in a bid to expand its energy-related steel product development and marketing.

 The energy-related steel product market has been growing 6 percent annually on average in recent years with it being projected to be a future growth engine for the steel industry.

POSCO has been trying to cut out a bigger market share of the steel plates for the energy industry since 2008, sending its officers to the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) held annually in the United States to publicize the competitive nature of its steel plates.

The steelmaker has been holding a number of receptions for energy-related company officials seeking joint exploration of business areas and engaging in marketing activities for steel products being used by the energy industry.

POSCO aims to secure more than 10 percent of the global market for steel products for the energy industry by 2020 after completing the development of over 60 kinds of steel products for use in the energy industry with a number of POSCO affiliates including POSCO Construction, Daewoo International, and Seongji Geotec jointly cooperating to secure energy plant construction projects.