Powering performance

Are there any regional projects in the pipeline?

At the moment we’re talking to a couple of companies in the Gulf region about generating power on-shore and then cabling it out to the rig. We’ve completed a sucessful pilot in the North Sea before, and it can be about 50% more energy efficient than off-shore generation.

How do you differentiate your service from competitors in the region?

We offer the advantage of being both local and global. We possess all of the strengths of a global company – we take the best technology and engineers from all over the world and combine those resources with flexibility and understanding.

At the same time, however, we don’t just have a trading arm here in the Middle East – most of the projects we’re doing here, we actually execute here.

Because we’re based locally, our customers are able to interact with us personally and form a relationship, which is important for effective communication and establishing trust.

What makes operating in the Middle East different?

The region has visionary leaders that actually have the money and ambition to turn their vision into reality. As a result, there’s now a good basis for sustained economic growth that takes the Middle East out of the economic bubble.

What is the biggest regional challenge ABB faces?

Like every company here in the Middle East, our major problem is a lack of human rather than financial resources. We hope to double our workforce in the UAE over the next two years to around 1,000 people, but we need engineers, of which there is a huge shortage everywhere.

Obviously, there are security risks in places like Yemen and Iraq, but every company has those problems and we take extra security precautions.

Do political factors influence your business decisions at all?

We try to keep politics completely separate from business. We are, however, listed on the US stock exchange so we obviously have to abide by rules on global embargos and sanctions. In Iran we are legally obliged to fulfill our existing contracts, but we’re not looking for any new business there.

We’ve been careful working in Syria in the past because of what seemed to be going on, but they look to be opening to Europe now, so that’s encouraging.  We’ve never done business there before, but we certainly wouldn’t rule it out.

What are your predictions for the oil and gas sector?

I don’t see oil prices going below US$100 a barrel and if anything I can see them going up. You just have to look at countries like China and India who haven’t used huge amounts of oil up until now. Now they want to improve their standard of living and will need more oil, especially since their populations are huge and growing so fast.

Where has ABB gone wrong in the past?

In the past we haven’t consistently focused on our relationships in the Middle East. We’re trying to fix that now though and learn from our mistakes. Our short-term strategies in the region are now four or five years and our long-term strategies 50 to 100 years.

Is there now more emphasis on process efficiency given rising costs?

The industry wants to be as efficient as possible and get the maximum amount of resources out of the ground, utlilise them as best they can for the lowest cost. ABB can definitely help.

What advice would you offer other companies hoping to work in the oil and gas sector in the Middle East?

Until recently, companies thought the Middle East was a place they could come for a short period of time and get an order quickly. Things have developed a lot and now you have to be committed for the long-term.

The oil and gas industry is here to stay and it needs dedicated partners who want to build a proper relationship with them. This means setting your business up locally and bringing resources in so that you can respond to customers needs immediately.