By Fabienne Lissak and Tara Patel

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Groupe Bollore is buying shares in French tubemaker Vallourec SA after making a profit of 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) selling a previously held stake, billionaire investor Vincent Bollore said in an interview.

``We're still a shareholder and we're in the process of building up our position,'' Bollore said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``We're long-term investors and try to profit from cycles, especially when it's a good period to get in.''

Vallourec, the world's second-biggest maker of oil-and-gas pipes, benefited from record oil prices last year which encouraged companies to probe deeper for reserves. Bollore said the company made a 1.5 billion-euro gain from selling stakes over a three-year period starting in 2006.

``We believe the oil sector will continue to grow as will seamless steel tubes,'' Bollore said in the interview.``Vallourec is in the premium part of the market.''