Spanning the energy and industrial value chain

Saudi Arabia

Fadi Al Jafari, vice-president of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for Baker Hughes, talks to The Energy Year about bringing cutting-edge technology to Saudi Arabia and leading key projects to further the country’s energy goals. Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that offers products and services to the energy and industrial sectors.

This interview is featured in The Energy Year Saudi Arabia 2025

How does the expansion of Baker Hughes’ Dammam facility in 2024 reflect the company’s commitment to Saudi Arabia’s industrial growth and Vision 2030?
Baker Hughes is expanding its Industrial & Energy Technology Dammam Center, marking a significant milestone in the company’s commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia’s industrial development. Since its inauguration in 2018, the facility has delivered approximately 50 compression trains for various projects, including projects such as NEOM and Jafurah.
The expansion will further support phase three of the Master Gas System project, reinforcing our role in supporting Saudi Arabia’s growing energy needs and leadership in the global energy landscape.
Baker Hughes is committed to investing in local talent and developing new skills to support our growing footprint in Saudi Arabia. As the country continues to expand its capacity, we are proud to provide localised and tailored solutions that align with Saudi Arabia’s energy and industrial goals, in alignment with Vision 2030.

How is Baker Hughes leveraging advanced digital technologies to enhance operational efficiency and support the transformation of Saudi Arabia’s energy sector?
Baker Hughes is an energy technology company with a diverse portfolio of equipment and service capabilities that span the energy and industrial value chain. From the first rotary drill bit to the world’s most extensive portfolio of compressors and gas turbines, and from digital solutions that predict outcomes to modular deep-water technology, for more than a century, our inventions have been revolutionising the energy industry.
Today, a vast amount of data is generated across our customers’ operations – whether that is exploration data, production, and process data or simply the data required to manage complex and distributed global supply chains. We can leverage the power of AI and digital across our portfolio to help our customers unlock the value in their data and drive safer energy and more intelligent operations.
These solutions help optimise operational efficiency and productivity, drive business performance and outcomes, enable data-driven decisions to mitigate risks and ensure sustainable and compliant operations. Our suite of AI-powered digital technologies allows us to enhance operations at every level of the energy value chain.
For example, Leucipa is an automated field production solution that uses real-time data to optimise field operations, enhancing production and reducing downtime. The Leucipa ESP Optimizer, a module of the Leucipa solution, analyses and optimises ESPs [electric submersible pumps] and well performance, detects and mitigates critical conditions, and accurately predicts remaining pump run-life, enhancing the reliability of customers’ production assets and reducing their lifting cost. Crucially, Leucipa is a hardware-agnostic solution, which means it can be used to optimise production regardless of the hardware provider.
Additionally, our collaboration with Corva is solving reservoir, drilling and completion challenges. Corva provides an outstanding user experience and industry-leading analytics for more than 100 well construction applications through the use of offset and real-time data, enabling customers to save money by enhancing their well construction operations. Together, Baker Hughes and Corva plan to deliver a powerhouse of digital applications for oil and gas operations that drive better outcomes for customers.
Baker Hughes also offers Cordant, which is an integrated suite of solutions supporting industrial asset performance management and process optimisation. Cordant combines existing digital offerings for hardware, software and services capabilities into one integrated and simplified user interface.
We believe that digital is the future, as it plays a critical role in driving sustainable energy development. We must continue to develop and deploy innovative digital solutions that enable us to leverage the power of data to deliver better outcomes.

How is Baker Hughes advancing hydrocarbon production and EOR to support Saudi Arabia’s long-term energy strategy?
Baker Hughes has played a pivotal role in Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas sector for more than 85 years, contributing significantly to major projects. Our focus on supporting and enabling hydrocarbon production, optimising oil recovery from existing fields and discoveries has been instrumental in fueling growth.
Looking forward, as Saudi Arabia continues its energy leadership strategy, innovation and technology are imperative. We can leverage technologies that focus on EOR through our Mature Asset Solutions portfolio, which helps maximise the operational efficiency of mature oil and gas fields utilising insights and industry-leading technologies.
Given the harsh environments inherent to gas fields, we will focus on deploying high-temperature and high-pressure technologies such as Lucida to achieve exceptional drilling performance, exact well placement and superior well bore quality. We are excited about the potential for growth and innovation in this dynamic market.

What does the recent contract to supply compression technology for the third expansion phase of the Jafurah gas field represent for Baker Hughes’ partnership with Saudi Aramco?
We are proud that Baker Hughes has been awarded such a significant contract to supply six gas compression trains and six propane compressors for the third expansion phase of Jafurah gas field, which is one of the largest unconventional gas fields in Saudi Arabia and a cornerstone of the country’s energy transition strategy.
This contract highlights our role as a key enabler in delivering essential technologies that support the development of Jafurah and enhance Saudi Arabia’s energy security. Baker Hughes will supply state-of-the-art electric motor-driven compression solutions, leveraging our recently expanded centre in Dammam.
It builds upon Baker Hughes’ long-standing relationship with Aramco and follows previous contract awards in 2022, bringing the total to 24 electric motor-driven compressors and an additional 14 compressors supplied by Baker Hughes for multiple Jafurah gas processing plants. These compressors leveraged significant local content, reflecting our commitment to Saudi Arabia’s industrial growth and localisation strategy.
The contract reinforces our trusted partnership with Aramco, which includes previous supply contracts for the Haradh and Hawiyah gas plants, as well as earlier phases of the Jafurah gas field and the Master Gas System project. It deepens our commitment to local supply chains, manufacturing and in-country services that enhance operational efficiency and sustainability.
Our advanced gas compression technology will enable efficient and reliable production from the Jafurah field. Baker Hughes is at the forefront of Jafurah’s gas infrastructure, providing advanced gas compression, processing and digital solutions that ensure efficiency, reliability and sustainability.

What is Baker Hughes’ involvement in the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project, and how does it reflect the company’s leadership in hydrogen technology?
Baker Hughes plays a pivotal role in the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project, the largest green hydrogen project in the world, through the equal joint venture of ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM. We have a long-standing collaboration with Air Products on hydrogen initiatives that began in 2021 and have already delivered the first two trains for advanced hydrogen compression.
Through our contributions to the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project, Baker Hughes is actively supporting Saudi Arabia’s energy transition mission and Vision 2030.
Baker Hughes has a long history in hydrogen technology, having developed its first hydrogen compressor in the 1910s. Today, we operate more than 2,250 hydrogen compressors around the world, showcasing our extensive experience in this field. Our hydrogen portfolio features the NovaLT family of gas turbines capable of burning natural gas and hydrogen blends, up to 100% hydrogen.

How is Baker Hughes applying its global geothermal expertise to support Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy ambitions?
Baker Hughes is a key player in geothermal energy and a committed partner in Saudi Arabia’s energy transition. With more than 40 years of experience in geothermal project development across 27 countries, Baker Hughes offers solutions that address the unique challenges of geothermal environments by providing advanced technologies and expertise in well construction, completion and production. This includes specialised equipment designed to withstand the high temperatures and harsh conditions typical of geothermal projects.
Baker Hughes provides oilfield expertise, advanced well construction technologies, steam turbines and other turbomachinery equipment to create an integrated approach encompassing both subsurface and surface aspects of geothermal projects. This makes the company a valuable partner in advancing geothermal energy initiatives. These capabilities align with and can significantly support Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy goals leading up to 2030.
Our commitment to innovation is reflected in advanced drilling techniques and reservoir management strategies that optimise geothermal energy production, and we are investing in R&D to enhance project efficiency and sustainability. We support the diversification of Saudi Arabia’s energy mix by reducing carbon emissions and achieving its renewable energy targets.
Moreover, we collaborate with local stakeholders to enhance energy security and help meet growing energy demands sustainably. We build strategic partnerships with institutions such as KAUST and NEOM and collaborate with local and international organisations to deliver comprehensive geothermal solutions.

What are Baker Hughes’ long-term objectives for expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia?
Baker Hughes is committed to expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia by focusing on sustainable energy development, local workforce development and supply chain and local capability development. Baker Hughes today has more than 15 facilities in Saudi Arabia focused on manufacturing, services, assembly and R&D.
Over the past few years, we have been focused on expanding our footprint in Saudi Arabia further. Part of these expansions include a significant investment in new facilities in SPARK and a major energy city mega-project that emphasises energy transition, sustainability and technology integration.
The first is the development of Novel’s non-metallics facility, which is a joint venture with Aramco offering unique capabilities in producing onshore non-metallic pipelines, including reinforced thermoplastic pipes. The second is a new Oilfield Services & Equipment OFSE regional hub, also in SPARK, spanning 300,000 square meters. It will support operations and customers throughout the Middle East and is set to become the largest assembly, maintenance and overhaul hub for Baker Hughes in the eastern hemisphere.
As part of this expansion, Baker Hughes and Dussur formed another joint venture, Saudi Petrolite Chemicals, which aims to increase Saudi Arabia’s supply of raw materials and reinforce the manufacturing skills and capabilities of the local workforce with more than 70% Saudisation. This joint venture introduces a state-of-the-art, first-of-its-kind chemical manufacturing facility equipped with full reaction capabilities to serve not only the oil and gas sector but also a wide range of industrial markets.
With thousands of skilled Saudi professionals employed, Baker Hughes shows its commitment to localisation. Developing local talent is vital for our long-term success, economic growth and sustainability in this key market. We invest in workforce development through vocational training programmes and partnerships with universities, having graduated hundreds of skilled professionals across various majors in collaboration with vocational institutes in Saudi Arabia such as the Saudi Arabian Drilling Academy, EnergyTech and the Leading National Academy.

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