Oil facility to open in JAFZA

Baker Hughes, an oilfield services company, has announced the official opening of a major new facility in Dubai.

The new centre will open on February 14 and is being billed as an important resource for the company's growing business in the Middle East. The Baker Hughes complex, located on 25-acres in the Techno Park at the Jebel Ali Free Zone includes the Middle East Asia Pacific (MEAP) region headquarters and the Eastern Hemisphere Education Center, as well as an operations building and a manufacturing plant.

"The new Baker Hughes MEAP campus in Dubai demonstrates our commitment to serving customers in the Middle East and to developing a highly qualified, diverse employee base in the Eastern Hemisphere," said Chad Deaton, Baker Hughes chairman and CEO. "The campus represents an investment of more than US $80 million and provides a focal point for our company's growth in the region."

The MEAP region headquarters will support Baker Hughes' business in 31 countries that encompass the region.

The Eastern Hemisphere Education Center will be Baker Hughes' main training facility for the Eastern Hemisphere, with the capacity to provide technical and non-technical instruction for up to 300 students at a time. The building has 16 classrooms, a laboratory and a 20 000 ft² training workshop. Two training drilling rigs and test wells are planned for future installation.

The Operations Center houses offices and workshops. The site's warehouse and repair and maintenance center will support the company's technology and services.

The site's manufacturing plant, planned to begin operation later in 2008, will produce well screens and production management systems for sand control and optimised recovery from long horizontal wells, which are widely applied in the Middle East.

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