MRC Global and NAWAH enter into exclusive alliance to open distribution facility to support Iraq's energy sector

As part of the agreement, NAWAH (North America Western Asia Holdings) will open Iraq's first comprehensive sales and service center focused on providing the equipment necessary to develop the country's strategic energy reserves. The facility's location in Basra, which is situated near many of the country's most important oil and gas fields, allows quick delivery of MRC's extensive inventory of quality PVF products.

MRC Global is a Fortune 500 company that operates from more than 400 service locations around the world. The company relies on this distribution network and long-standing, global manufacturer relationships to provide a unique value proposition to energy and industrial end users in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. MRC's global customer base includes international oil companies operating around the world.

"Iraq is a natural focus area for us and for our customers," said Andrew R. Lane, MRC's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "With some of the world's greatest energy reserves, Iraq will continue to grow at a record pace. We are pleased to work with NAWAH to better serve our global customers in this active region. In 2012, MRC sourced $4.6bn in product from 35 countries and will bring this global supply chain capability to the partnership."

NAWAH is currently developing world-class logistics capability to serve its customers in Southern Iraq. These efforts include the current restoration of Maqal Port in the city of Basra, an operation that will offer complex cargo as well as container handling capability in the midst of one of the fastest growing cities in the Middle East. NAWAH LLC was formed in October 2011 by Paul A. Brinkley and U.S. businessman Thomas J. Pritzker, chairman and chief executive officer of the Pritzker Organization of Chicago, to invest in Iraq and the broader region.

"Iraq's current and future prosperity relies on its ability to quickly rehabilitate its energy sector," said Brinkley, NAWAH's president and chief executive officer. "MRC is a trusted name in PVF distribution around the globe. With this new facility, the country's energy companies will no longer have to wait weeks or months for critical equipment to be shipped in from the other side of the world. By having it here in Basra, all a customer will have to do is pick up the phone and have it delivered right away."