Our role is to offer energy companies technologies, knowledge transfer, business models and taking risk with them so they can provide energy in an efficient and safe manner, Khalid Nouh, TAQA’s CEO, tells OGN
Industrialization and Energy Services Company (TAQA) ambition is to become a recognised leader in managing integrated projects in the Middle East-North Africa. Will do this by providing technical services across the life cycle of oilfields as well as offering unique technologies for Geothermal and Carbon Underground storage projects playing a major role in the decarbonisation efforts in the MENA region.
TAQA announced at IPTC 2022 the full acquisition of TENDEKA, a UK-based engineering and manufacturing company with offices in Houston, Stavanger, Aberdeen, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. TENDEKA specialises in offering reservoir monitoring and control, advanced lower completions, and production optimisation technologies, delivering innovative, stand-alone completion products, which can be combined and tailored to specific customer requirements across the full spectrum of conventional and unconventional reservoirs.
Ahmed Mousa Al-Zahrani, TAQA Chairman of the Board, said: “We continue to realise TAQA strategy to expand well services offering and become a leading international services and equipment provider. The acquisition of TENDEKA will complete our portfolio and fill the well completions gap we had. TENDEKA has an excellent technology base with strong IP, skilled workforce and global international presence, complementing our current and future offering”
OGN held an exclusive discussion with Khalid Nouh, TAQA CEO, who brings a proven track record of working with leading international oil and energy companies, to get a better understanding of the long-term strategy and leadership behind TAQA’s growth.
How is TAQA transforming to be the enabler of energy?
TAQA is structured around three core business units:
• TAQA Venture Management overlooks TAQA’s growing joint venture companies and ensures governance and operational alignment with the rest of TAQA group.
• TAQA Well Services manages the day-to-day operations of all TAQA Well Services companies in the MENA region, focusing on excellent execution and quality products. TAQA-Well Services is the growth engine of the group.
• TAQA International is based in Houston, TX, and is the research, engineering, and manufacturing backbone of TAQA. Focused on expanding TAQA’s research and engineering capabilities to sustain and grow its leadership position and competitive edge.
From our core business units, it is clear that TAQA is not an energy company. We operate in the energy space by enabling the energy companies to do what they do best. That is why we consider ourselves as an enabler.
Our role is to offer them technologies, knowledge transfer, business models and taking risk with them so that they can deliver energy in an efficient and safe manner.
In the Oil Field Services and Equipment market (OFSE), what are the main challenges the service companies are facing locally and globally?
Part of the TAQA portfolio is OFSE. The biggest challenge that we are facing in the sector are pricing and investment. Prices have been suppressed and investors have lost their appetite to invest.
TAQA is differently structured. It is not a listed company and is owned by investors in Saudi Arabia, the largest of which is the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which vision is to invest for the future. We have an ambitious investment strategy, supported by shareholders who are willing to invest to achieve our long-term goals.
There are many service companies struggling in today’s environment. What differentiates your company from others?
TAQA operates to build a common interest between us and our customers. We are growing our technical abilities by acquiring technology companies and expanding our international presence. This will improve our competitiveness and create differentiation between us and other services companies in our field.
We are also different because we have investors who take a long-term view. In addition, we have a strong relationship with our number one customer Aramco. Ultimately, our investments are in game changing technologies and that will be a key differentiator for us.
Why do you believe TAQA has incredible potential in the OFSE market?
The size of the market in the MENA Region is more than SR70 billion ($18.66 billion) spend a year. We believe we will be a major player in the region because of the value we offer in services quality and technological excellence.
Recently, TAQA Well Services was awarded a mega integrated fracturing services contract valued at more than SR1 billion over the contract duration, which may extend to five years.
This award is in line with TAQA strategy to grow the business and capture more share of critical projects such as integrated hydraulic fracturing.
We may not be the largest but our goal is to be the most reliable, efficient and above all most profitable.
How have the recent acquisitions helped in realising TAQA’s strategy? What does the company aspire to be?
We have just announced the acquisition of TENDEKA one of the major completion technology companies. This acquisition opens up exciting global opportunities.
Tendeka has a rich history of providing innovative technologies for reservoir recovery and production optimisation.
The acquisition of TENDEKA allows us to enter the advance completions market and to complete the portfolio of TAQA as an integrated oilfield services provider.
We are diligently working on complementing our portfolio of technologies by acquiring and investing in those companies.
Starting in 2017, TAQA acquired Sanjel Energy Services in KSA to start the pressure pumping business. This was followed in 2019 with the acquisition of Cougar Drilling Solutions to penetrate the downhole tools and directional drilling (DD) businesses.
TAQA’s vision is contiguous with the KSA’s Vision 2030. We aspire to be a national champion of the Kingdom. We will be a major player in oilfield services domain in the Kingdom and we will be offering these services globally with technology and quality at the forefront.
While we are focused on providing services rather than products, we will not rule out the possibility to manufacture products that complement our service offering.
How is TAQA progressing in its digitalisation efforts? What initiatives are you launching to realise this strategy?
Digitalisation is a big topic; it’s not what people and companies will do. But rather it will be something that will happen as part of the process.
Our digitalisation strategy is to have a roadmap where we move away from manual interactions to digital and AI implementations.
We have appointed Dr Mario Ruscev as the Chief Technology Officer, who has a proven track record of 35 years in technology. He is leading the development of technology and technological adoption geared towards the needs of the market. His and TAQA’s focus will be to add value to the customer utilising technology.
A major challenge with introducing a new technology is acceptance of this change. Accordingly, it will be important to bring the customer along with us by highlighting how this technology is adding value.
The energy industry is turning to a low- to zero-carbon energy future, what is TAQA doing in this regard?
Sustainability is part of our strategy. We are looking at decarbonisation and renewable energy.
Our portfolio of JVs has strong technologies on carbon capture. TAQA’s role can be focused in drilling wells for carbon sequestration and underground storage.
We signed an alliance with Advanced Resources International (ARI), based in Washington. Together we are studying the subsurface, identifying areas with good potential for underground storage provision.
On renewable energy, we are investing in geothermal. We believe that geothermal is a very important part in the spectrum of renewable energy. On the western coast of KSA there are numerous hot springs, we have been working with the Ministry of Energy and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to study the potential to utilise geothermal energy. Our ambition is to drill the first geothermal well by the end of 2022.
Khalid Nouh is leading TAQA with a vision. In his words, he sees this vision as being aligned with the long-term vision of the Kingdom.
“We are developing the technologies, products and services, and nurturing the young and local talent needed by the NOCs to find and produce our region’s natural resources in abundance.
“Our role in TAQA is to create a wealthier Kingdom for the Saudi nation as well as for all those residing in KSA. We see our role for TAQA to offer services and products to Aramco and the country that will be a net contributor to this wealth.”
