Baker Hughes & SOC Sign an Alliance Agreement

Baker Hughes announced it has signed a three-year strategic alliance with Iraq's South Oil Company (SOC) to provide technical services to SOC's wireline logging department in Burj Esya, Basra south Iraq. Under the terms of the technical services agreement (TSA), Baker Hughes will supply wireline technologies to SOC and other Iraqi oil and gas producers as well as help develop local Iraqi wireline logging capabilities. The TSA covers the provision of operations and technical support, HSE management, and training programs, processes and procedures for SOC's Iraqi engineers and technicians.

Commenting on the agreement, Dheyaa Jaaffar, SOC director general, said, "South Oil Company has always been a leader in the development of national skills and knowledge. Existing facilities and local knowledge in wireline services is outdated and will not allow us to reach the accelerated knowledge and development needed for our wireline workforce. Our agreement with a world-class service provider such as Baker Hughes to provide the technical assistance needed, along with state-of-the-art technologies and training programs, will allow our Iraqi workforce to reach international competency levels in the shortest possible time and, therefore, will ensure that the South Oil Company's service arm is geared to perform wireline services by our Iraqi employees to all operators in Iraq without jeopardizing data quality or service delivery standards."

Khaled Nouh, president of the Middle East for Baker Hughes, said "We are eager to take the first steps toward developing Iraq's national workforce jointly with the South Oil Company. This technical services agreement is expected to allow SOC to fast track personnel development as well as technology deployment in wireline data acquisition and logging — one of the most fundamental and essential oilfield services in Iraq. This is expected to allow all operators to better assess petrophysical and reservoir data to fast track production. We are excited about this opportunity to contribute positively to the ambitious plans of Iraq and look forward to becoming active members of SOC's staff."