NOV Interview: Saudi Arabia Business Update

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Keith Leggett, VP of operations MENA, at global titan National Oilwell Varco says Saudi Arabia is busier than ever

Drilling and production activity, always a bellwether for wider industry trends in Saudi Arabia, is on the increase. New work on the Kingdom’s new and existing fields is driving investment in upstream support operations, according to Keith Leggett, VP Operations MENA at National Oilwell Varco.

Following the completion of its $100 billion capital expenditure programme in 2010, many observers may have been pessimistic about forthcoming business opportunities in the Kingdom.

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Leggett says, demand for rig services and equipment has not only maintained a healthy level, but NOV in fact saw demand grow throughout 2011.

“At the beginning of 2011 we moved into a brand new 8,000 square metre facility in the second industrial area of Dammam, just on the outskirts of the city. This represented a major investment but means we have the capability to represent just about the entire NOV group from a hub site,” explains Leggett.

The new facility is a combination of six NOV divisions, and aside from business units which have longstanding or legacy agreements elsewhere, such as the Tuboscope division, it brings a centralized approach to business in the Kingdom.

“For downhole tools, rig solutions, all of the related equipment and distribution, which dominate what the rig solutions business provides, we can stock everything here which delivers obvious benefits to our customers,” Leggett says.

At year-end 2011 NOV had around 60 employees at its Dammam site.

“Business is going well. We have been looking forward to adding greater support in Saudi Arabia and we are achieving that now. Given the extent of installed equipment belonging to NOV, we felt it prudent to upgrade our support structure in the Kingdom.

There is an ongoing expansion in drilling activity. That is continuing into 2012 and beyond. For that reason we needed to make sure that we had sufficient support, personnel, spare parts and equipment available in the Kingdom to manage that.”

Leggett says that in 2011 customers will have noticed more availability in stock, thanks to a substantial upgrade of inventories and additions to support staff in the Saudi Arabian hub.

“In terms of field service and well based services we have a great deal more capability now, and we have been building our capacity for overhauls on key equipment such as top drives and mud pumps, as well as being able to service and recertify BOPs in country – it’s a big improvement,” he adds.

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