Baker Hughes, a GE Company has won a major contract to
provide a wide range of services to develop Papua New Guinea's first offshore
gas field which is seen as a new model to help producers adapt to a world of
low oil prices.
The contract, worth several hundred million dollars,
contrasts with the traditional model where a company awards various parts of
field development separately to different providers.
It comes as the global oil and gas sector slowly emerges
from a three-year rout that brought new field development to a near standstill,
creating intense competition among oil service providers for contracts.
Under the contract, BHGE will provide services to
Australian exploration and production firm Twinza for the development of the
offshore Pasca A gas condensate field ranging from the initial stages of
well-drilling and appraisal through to production and gas processing,
executives from the two companies said.
General Electric completed its acquisition of Baker
Hughes last month to become the world's second largest oilfield services
company, bringing together traditional drilling and pumping gear with
technology such as software, sensors and three-dimensional printing.
Applying the integrated suite of services together with
advanced technology can save companies up to 5 percent in a sector where
projects often involve billions in investment, according to BHGE Chief
Executive Officer Lorenzo Simonelli.
"The price of oil continues to fluctuate. Capex
spending is a moving target at the moment so productivity cost per barrel has
to be the focus to get projects to a final investment decision," Simonelli
told Reuters in an interview.
In an industry historically plagued by cost overruns and
project delays, the "fullstream" model removes logistical delays such
as late arrival of vessels, the need to hold several tenders or adapt to
different equipment standards, according to Visal Leng, head of BHGE Asia
Pacific.
Simonelli said there are "hundreds of millions (of
dollars) associated with the development of the project", but did not give
an exact figure for the contract.
BHGE is already working with some of the world's top oil
companies on using its integrated services, including a large project with BP
in the Gulf of Mexico, Simonelli said.
Full article: Reuters