Abu Dhabi: GE Oil & Gas sees opportunities in Iran as the country gets ready to welcome global companies after reaching a historical nuclear deal with six major world powers in July this year.
“We have been in Iran previously before the sanctions and as the sanctions get lifted, we will go back in and will provide assistance,” Lorenzo Simonelli, President & CEO of GE Oil & Gas told Gulf News in an exclusive interview.
“I see the potential from an infrastructure perspective as the sanctions get lifted. We already have some installed base-related to knowing the field and also having prior equipment there but we’ve got to wait for Iran to open up and sanctions are lifted,” he added.
A number of global oil giants have shown interest in Iran as the country opens doors after a prolonged period of international sanctions related to its controversial nuclear enrichment programme.
Iran conducted a major oil and gas conference in October in order to outline the country’s plans to attract investments once sanctions are lifted. Another conference is set to take place in London in February.
The country holds the world’s fourth-largest proven crude oil reserves and the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves. Its oil production slumped following international sanctions in 2012 and is estimated to be about 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) at present, down by 1 million bpd.
Speaking on the drop in oil prices, Lorenzo said it does not impact the long-terms goals of the company and they will continue to invest. “The drop in oil prices is something that happens and this is a cyclical industry. We entered into the oil and gas industry not thinking about oil price but are really looking at the long-term nature of where the industry is headed,” he said.
“In the short-term, with the price drop, there has been some reduction in the level of activity, some projects are moving out but nothing that I would say is unusual from an industry downturn perspective. The industry will come back at some stage. Long terms trends are positive.”
The company is investing in Egypt and Saudi Arabia as part of its expansion plans. In March, GE announced $200 million investment in Egypt to focus on power generation, renewables, water, oil & gas, aviation and rail transportation.
Earlier this month, GE Oil & Gas completed the multimillion dollar first phase expansion of the company’s advanced manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia to boost domestic manufacturing and export.
“This region is important for us. GE has been present in the Gulf region for many years. If you look at the 130 years history of GE, we’ve got presence in the Gulf for much of that period. We’ve got strong relationship with Adnoc (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), with Saudi Aramco and KOC (Kuwait Oil Company).”
“If you look at Saudi Arabia, you can see the investments that have been announced with increase in employment from 2,000 to 4,000 with 70 per cent localisation. In Egypt we have $200 million investment in power generation and we have commitment for newest technology for KOC in Kuwait.”
In the UAE, he said GE has a good installed base in Umm Lulu project in Abu Dhabi and has an important partnership with Mubadala.
On the total investments in the region, he did not give a specific figure but said the investments are consistent and ongoing.
