Baker Hughes, a General Electric company (BHGE), believes the government's economic reforms and measures, including reform of the subsidy system, exchange rate liberalisation and tax reform, and new investment-stimulating laws, such as the new gas and investment laws, are helping to increase the company's investments in Egypt. Ayman Khattab, vice president of BHGE for the Southern Gulf and East Africa, said the merger of Baker Hughes and General Electric helped provide integrated solutions, starting from drilling wells to extracting petroleum products to refineries. "Baker Hughes dug the first well in Egypt and has been here since 1910 and has not left since, despite the various events and political unrest," he said. He added that the company dug all the wells of the mega Zohr gas field and contracted to drill all the wells in the second phase of the project last December, and it is expected that all drilling operations will be completed within 18 months. He pointed out that BHGE contracted with Petrojet to manufacture parts of the oil and gas exploration equipment in Egypt, and it chose the heavy structures and components for the production system under the sea surface of Zohr field in a contract worth EGP 1bn. "The contract with Petrojet comes as part of a strategy to increase the participation of local companies, develop career opportunities for qualified personnel, and improve manufacturing capabilities in terms of quality, delivery time, and cost," he stressed. The contract also supports export development, with the potential to serve other markets in the Middle East and Africa. "It was possible to contract with a foreign company, but we have contracted with an Egyptian company and we hope to cooperate with them in projects outside Egypt," he explained. BHGE is participating in the petroleum sector programme to develop and enhance capacities, and provide technical and specialised training programmes to improve the skills of the oil sector's workers and increase their expertise through practical participation in the implementation of various petroleum projects. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Petroleum to provide digital infrastructure, platforms, and appropriate applications to modernise the sector, provide advisory services and asset valuation, and promote and enhance the predictive ability of the accounting information to manage bidding rounds. The memorandum of understanding is in line with the Ministry of Petroleum's development programme, with particular emphasis on attracting investments; improving the performance of individuals, quality of research, and exploration services for oil, refining, and marketing; and contributing to decision-making and the basis of data flow.
