France-based Schneider Electric is optimistic about growth in the oil and gas sector and feels that it is well placed, with new additions to the oil and gas division, to meet this demand for greater energy efficiency in the hydrocarbon sector
Patrick Albos the vice president of oil and gas solutions and Ahmed Sfar, infrastructure business vice president for UAE & Oman spoke to Oil Review Middle East about the importance of the Middle East region for the energy management firm's operations and why opportunities in the downstream sector and transportation is playing to Schneider's strengths.
"The Middle East is a dynamic market and Schneider Electric has always looked at ways to get closer to its customer, especially ADNOC, by providing more support through their partners. We now have a more direct presence in the oil and gas sector," argued Albos.
Schneider Electric's central hub for its oil and gas division is based out of Abu Dhabi and serves the whole region. The UAE is the firm's biggest market for oil and gas, but is well balanced across the region.
"The Iraqi market is re-booming and there is a lot of investment going into Iraq. We are engaged in many projects in Iraq and we see it as a big opportunity for us. It is not only an important market for regional investment but will become a major investment hub for our global customers, like BP and ExxonMobil," he noted.
Albos highlighted the significance of winning the Zayed Future Energy Prize award at the start of the year, which he claimed stands "as a testimony to our presence and commitment to this market. It also affirms our commitment to sustainable development".
A trend that Albos sees as increasing in importance is energy efficiency and energy management in the oil and gas industry.
"We are leaders in this field and we are ahead of our competition when we talk about oil extraction, pipeline management or refinery. Energy efficiency is a major concern of our customer and we are ready to serve them," he stressed.
There is still a lot to do in terms of oil extraction and getting better efficiency and Schneider Electric are working hard on trying to tackle this. Transportation is another major issue and there can be a lot of saving and efficiency to manage on the transport side.
Albos sees a major opportunity for Schneider Electric's business in the region's new focus on the downstream sector, which is growing fast and is in real need of greater energy efficiency.
Acquisitions
2012 has also seen Telvent, a global pipeline management company, join Schneider and help complement its oil and gas offering.
Albos stated, "Telvent is a fantastic brand. It provides more process control and IT integration for pipeline and smart field. We have been able to complement our historical position from electrical distribution, to energy management and now to process management."
Schneider was still on the look out for more acquisitions and the firm has just completed one in Saudi Arabia when it acquired AMPS (Advanced Modular Power Systems).
"It is very important and although we started the process a long time ago, we only finally completed the administration in October of this year. It is now a fully owned Schneider Electric company. It complements our energy management capabilities and our offering in the Middle East. It helps position ourselves as a leader in Saudi Arabia.'
Albos concluded optimistically, “We see a strong outlook of growth and many opportunities in energy management."
