Baker Hughes eyes artificial lift, power generation role in Venezuela oil revival
(Bloomberg) – Baker Hughes Co. said it sees providing power generation equipment for crude production in Venezuela as its biggest immediate growth opportunity.
The world’s second-biggest oilfield contractor is poised to supply infrastructure including natural gas turbines to power production and electrical pumps to boost output of existing wells, Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said in an email.
Baker Hughes has the largest installed base of so-called rotating and artificial lift equipment — machinery that speeds up crude production — in Venezuela, Simonelli said. The infrastructure is key for production in the country, where crude is located in remote areas that don’t always have access to electricity.
“We have hundreds of critical pieces of equipment there for power generation,” he said. “And they would need service and maintenance.”
Top oil field service companies have been speaking with U.S. government officials and Chevron Corp. — the only U.S. oil major still in Venezuela — about expanding operations as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to reinvigorate production in the oil-abundant country.
Chevron plans to increase production by about 50% within the next two years, Vice Chairman Mark Nelson said at a White House meeting Jan. 9. The company currently produces about 240,000 bpd, which it splits with state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA.
See also: Chevron eyes up to $700 million cash flow upside from Venezuela
Baker Hughes had been operating in the country at a smaller scale to support Chevron, Simonelli said.
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