Azerbaijan, Baku, June 22 / Trend E. Ostapenko /
GE Oil & Gas expects to increase equipment supplies under contracts with BP Azerbaijan at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli and Shah Deniz fields. BP Azerbaijan is the largest foreign oil operator in the country.
"We are working closely with BP to develop the fields," Global Services Leader on Drilling and Production at GE Oil & Gas Neil Saunders told Trend in Baku today. "We plan to expand our activity with BP Azerbaijan as they continue to grow in the region."
GE Oil & Gas opened the new Global Services center outside Baku today. The center will allow the company to optimize repair services, and maintain and refurbish drilling equipment.
Saunders added that the center cost $6 million and will support regional oil and gas operations in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
"If we manage to participate in larger projects in Azerbaijan, we will need to expand our service opportunities. Certainly, we will consider further investments," he said.
Regarding the impact of the global financial crisis on GE, Saunders said the company felt the effects of the economic slow-down.
"The GE energy branch felt the crisis well. But we survived the storm fairly well," he added.
Saunders stressed that the demand for energy will continue in long term.
"We believe that the demand will increase again. We feel that we are in a very good position for further growth with a proper increase in energy demand," he said.
GE Oil & Gas has a staff of over 12,000 employees worldwide. It renders services in more than 100 countries.