Baker Hughes charges up development strategies

Global energy company Baker Hughes will accelerate localized development strategies for its core business in China to further tap market potential in the world's second-largest economy, according to a senior company executive.

"We will make progress through strategic trials to better meet the distinctive demand in the China market," said Cao Yang, vice-president of Baker Hughes and president of Baker Hughes China.

"China's determination to ensure energy security as well as its commitment to energy transition in an orderly manner will bring about huge business opportunities to foreign enterprises in relevant sectors," Cao said.

Baker Hughes will continuously expand its supply chain capability in China while striving to complete one-stop services for customers, which include product manufacturing, processing and talent cultivation, he added.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, global industrial and supply chains are under stress and energy security has become an urgent challenge for many economies in the world.

China, a country with rich coal resources but also a relatively high reliance on oil and natural gas imports, has withstood the tests to effectively cushion the impact of volatile international energy prices in the past few years, experts said.

The National Energy Administration said the country's energy supply system has improved over the past decade with a self-sufficiency rate exceeding 80 percent.

Ren Jingdong, deputy head of the NEA, said at a news conference on the sidelines of the recently concluded 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that the country will give full play to coal as the ballast stone in the energy mix while enhancing oil and natural gas exploration and development.

The goal is to raise the annual overall energy production capacity to over 4.6 billion metric tons of standard coal by 2025, and China will comprehensively build a clean energy supply system covering wind power, solar power, hydropower and nuclear power over the long run, he said.

Cao said the company has witnessed an increasing demand in China for more advanced technologies and services in the new energy sector like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and green hydrogen, and at the same time, customers in traditional energy industries－oil and natural gas－want to produce energy at a more efficient and greener manner while securing energy supplies.

Moreover, China is not only an important market for the company, but also a key part of its global supply chain, Cao said, adding that China's industrial chain provides strong support to the company's products and equipment production in the new energy sector, and the company has been striving to integrate deeper into China's industrial chain in many ways.

"We will advance the upgrades of our core business in the China market, keep investing to boost output and foray more into the new frontiers of energy technologies," he said.

The company will strengthen its capability to provide products and services Chinese customers need, and improve production efficiency and competitiveness in fossil energy production and utilization, he added.

It will focus on investing in industrial sectors that have huge demand potential for carbon emission control and prevention in China, such as mining, manufacturing and paper industries, Cao said.

The company will also invest huge amounts of capital in emerging energy technologies for decarbonization in energy and industrial sectors, and promote the development and commercialization of those technologies, Cao added.