Adipec 2015: Abu Dhabi-based Al Mansoori eyes North American acquisition

Abu Dhabi’s Al Mansoori Specialised Engineering plans to acquire a North American oil services company early next year as major services firms retreat from the market amid languishing crude prices.

Al Mansoori is looking to acquire a distressed US or Canadian company to boost its competitiveness. Nabil Al Alawi, Al Mansoori’s chief executive, said his company was evaluating about 10 firms that were in financial straits but could add to Al Mansoori’s technological capabilities.

He said that when oil prices were high, companies did not want to share their technological abilities. “I can keep them from sinking and use the technology to enhance my position [in the region],” said Mr Al Alawi. “Take it when it’s hot.”

Although many oil services firms are being battered by the low oil price, Al Mansoori's revenue grew 12 per cent over the past year. And Mr Al Alawi said his company's revenue would grow by at least 22 per cent next year.

“Our revenue has been increasing in double digits and that means we have to hire people,” he said, adding that he was targeting 900 new hires this year.

Mr Al Alawi credited the strong revenue growth to Arabian Gulf oil producers maintaining output levels to keep up their market share. “It’s a new strategy that hasn’t happened in the industry before,” he said. “The more they produce, the more work I get.”But that is not the case for large industry players. Baker Hughes has reportedly cut 6,200 jobs, while Schlumberger, the largest firm in the sector, has retrenched more than 20,000 employees.

Weatherford International, an oil and natural gas service company, has announced further job cuts of 27 per cent to a total of 14,000 by the end of the year. Although its North American operations will bear the brunt of the cuts, the company will downsize globally.

"We will have job cuts in the Middle East," said Arnold Frinks, the company's global human resources director, on the sidelines of Adipec.

However, Weatherford hopes that the Middle East and North Africa region would be its first operating area to increase employment when the oil market rebounds.

“Major industry consolidations are taking place, forcing us to optimise the way [we operate],” Mr Frinks said. “It will pick up again, but when or in what fashion we’ll have to see.”

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