U.S. based oilfield services firm Baker Hughes plans to invest over $80 million to open a Middle East and Asia Pacific headquarters in the Gulf trade hub of Dubai.
Fellow U.S. oilfield services company Halliburton Co. announced last year it would set up a second headquarters in Dubai, sparking controversy among U.S. politicians, some of whom accused it of trying to get around U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The Dubai-based daily quoted Baker Hughes CEO and Chairman Chad Deaton as saying the new Dubai facility will be built on a 25-acre site in the Jebel Ali free zone and house 800 full-time staff.
"The new Baker Hughes campus in Dubai demonstrates our commitment to serving customers in the Middle East, developing a highly qualified, diverse employee base in the Eastern Hemisphere," it quoted Deaton as saying.
Baker Hughes said last month its fourth-quarter profit rose to $400.5 million, helped by growth in its international markets.
It said it expected spending increases in North America to be "no more than moderate" in 2008 while growth outside North America was likely to continue, albeit at a slower pace than recent years.
The Gulf is the source of about one-fifth of the world's oil supplies and Gulf economies have been developing at a galloping pace, fuelled by windfall profits from soaring oil prices.
Dubai, which is in the midst of a construction boom, has attracted many multinationals, some of which use it as their regional base.(Reuters)
Fellow U.S. oilfield services company Halliburton Co. announced last year it would set up a second headquarters in Dubai, sparking controversy among U.S. politicians, some of whom accused it of trying to get around U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The Dubai-based daily quoted Baker Hughes CEO and Chairman Chad Deaton as saying the new Dubai facility will be built on a 25-acre site in the Jebel Ali free zone and house 800 full-time staff.
"The new Baker Hughes campus in Dubai demonstrates our commitment to serving customers in the Middle East, developing a highly qualified, diverse employee base in the Eastern Hemisphere," it quoted Deaton as saying.
Baker Hughes said last month its fourth-quarter profit rose to $400.5 million, helped by growth in its international markets.
It said it expected spending increases in North America to be "no more than moderate" in 2008 while growth outside North America was likely to continue, albeit at a slower pace than recent years.
The Gulf is the source of about one-fifth of the world's oil supplies and Gulf economies have been developing at a galloping pace, fuelled by windfall profits from soaring oil prices.
Dubai, which is in the midst of a construction boom, has attracted many multinationals, some of which use it as their regional base.(Reuters)
No comments:
Post a Comment