What’s AlMansoori’s oil and gas pedigree?
The company was established in 1977. It grew very rapidly and although that growth was in many different parts of the oil and gas industry, the core of our business has always been services. As we evolved we added more and more services and at the present time offer nine different services to the industry.
As well as the services we also got involved with trading and representing foreign companies, who by law have to have a local sponsor. So we added a commercial arm to our business. Then as we grew we realised that there was a need for some industries so we started producing some specialised products for the oil and gas industry. Up until a year ago there was three independent entities making up AlMansoori – oilfield services, trading and representing foreign companies and industry.
So what changed last year?
Over the last five to six years the company has grown by 25% a year and now has 1200-plus employees. Last year it came to a point where we couldn’t manage it all under one umbrella. We decided to dissect it and reform it as two independent standalone companies. One is called AlMansoori Petroleum Services and the other one is called AlMansoori Petroleum Industries. There is a manager for each company who reports directly to me, so these elements of the business were essentially streamlined. It was too unweildy as one operation.
Has the decision to dissect the company paid off?
The decision has paid off actually. Having two separate companies allows us to be more specialised and more focused. The decision making process in-house is much quicker so we can respond to any problems much more effectively too. Ultimately, when you make a decision like that it is very important for to ensure that you do everything possible to make it work, and throw the energy and resources behind the new vision. I’m glad to report that everyone in the company pulled together and made it work very well.
What do you expect for 2009? Is growth acheivable?
Our core business is North Africa and the Middle East, that’s where 90% of our work is located. Starting in Algeria and ending in India, 19 countries in total. The key growth of our plan now is in industries. We see huge potential of industries because the Middle East is one of the few oil and gas hubs in the world that doesn’t have the support of heavy industries.
If you look at Aberdeen, for example, most of the products are being produced there for the North Sea. If you look at the Far East most of the products are being produced in Singapore. However, if you look at the Middle East you hardly have any industries to provide support. So, we believe it is a fantastic growth area for us, we are concentrating on it very much and we are starting to try to build industries here.
So you are still expecting growth this year?
Of course! In 2009 we are on target to achieve 25% growth. This is exceptionally unusual when you think of some of our competitors announcing that they are going to be 6% under forecast. We are very bullish and have set ourselves some formidable growth targets and are as confident as ever of achieving them. Every four years we double in size – and we are still doing it.
How do you plan to hit those targets?
We are very proactive, and I think this is one of the reasons why we were able to see the potential quicksands ahead and avoid them. The oil price slows down the projects, it affects the industry we are in, but it doesn’t reduce the need. We are also a little lucky because most of our services revolve around maintaining the wells, not grassroots projects.
So it doesn’t matter how much oil or gas is coming out, you still need to maintain the wells if you want to produce. As a result we don’t see a massive increase in revenues when the oil price rises, but we also don’t experience a massive decrease when it falls either. It’s a very good position to be in actually – you can still eat every day!
