Sonatrach, BHGE to Build Plant in Arzew
Algerian state Sonatrach and US contractor Baker Hughes GE (BHGE) signed an agreement November 9 to create a new 20,000 m2 manufacturing facility in the Arzew industrial zone aiming to meet local and export demand for upstream equipment.
They have formed a joint venture, owned 51% by Sonatrach and 49% by BHGE, that will set up and own the plant, at a cost of $45mn. It is expected to open December 2019. It will provide manufacturing, assembly, and maintenance for various types of upstream equipment including wellheads, Xmas trees, blowout preventers, and valves, establishing a major base to fulfill Algeria’s increased domestic upstream requirements with the potential for future exports, creating long-term 200 jobs, said BHGE and state news agency APS.
Sonatrach CEO Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour said at the signing ceremony that the investment marks “a breakthrough in Sonatrach's integration chain, with a view to better controlling costs and deadlines to ensure the transfer of know-how and technologies through the diversification of its portfolio of goods and services.”
BHGE’s Middle East and North Africa president Rami Qasem said: “The combined effort underscores our commitment to help fuel the economy by improving economic competitiveness, developing skilled talent and delivering the highest manufacturing standards with plans for future exports.” The company has been involved in Algeria as a contractor for over 40 years.
The November 9 signing ceremony in Algiers was also attended by Algerian energy minister Mustapha Guitouni (right) and BHGE chief executive Lorenzo Simonelli (left in the photo above, courtesy of BHGE),
KBR, which owns Brown & Root, was the first US contractor to set up a joint manufacturing venture with Sonatrach in 1994. It was called Brown & Root-Condor and headed by Ould Kaddour from 1994 to 2006.
Mark Smedley