GE Oil & Gas has announced plans to expand its services facility in Egypt with an additional 2,000 sq m in the industrial free zone in co-operation with General Authority for Investment and Free Zones.

With this, GE Oil & Gas now has a total of 5,000 sq m area of its own. The expanded facility will handle the assembly, disassembly, repair, maintenance and testing for GE Oil & Gas upstream products locally in Egypt to serve both national and international oil and gas companies, said a statement from the company.

The facility will include a training center for GE customers and employees, it added.

Lauding the deal, Mohamed Khodair, the Gafi chairman, said: "We are proud to be a partner to GE, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced technologies and services. By creating the right investment environment, GE is now able to expand its operations and investment in the free zone which will support Egypt industrially and economically."

"The expanded facility is expected to be fully operational by mid-2017 and will include the assembly, disassembly, repair, maintenance and testing of GE Oil & Gas’ upstream products which will be home to more than 100 Egyptian services employees," he stated.

Ayman Khattab, the president and chief executive of GE North East Africa, said: "We are honoured to continue our partnership with Gafi and for their constant support to help us expand our footprint in Egypt. With the expansion of our GE Oil & Gas services facility, we continue our localization efforts in country to build local know-how, create jobs and support industrial and economic growth."

GE, he stated, has always been focused on driving localisation in the oil and gas sector in Egypt. "GE Oil & Gas is also a partner to Petrojet, a leading EPC services provider, to locally manufacture API Certified Sucker Rod pumping units in Egypt," he noted.

According to him, more than 1,170 units have been manufactured locally till date, serving customers in Egypt, the Middle East and Europe.

"The facility will also include a Training Center for GE customers and employees to help build better know-how on the operation and services needed for the products that will be covered at the facility," he added.-TradeArabia News Service