Gulf International Services (GIS) — which has substantial interests in drilling, aviation and catering — is pinning hopes on Qatar’s North Field Expansion (NFE) project and 2022 FIFA World Cup for its growth across the group.
Amidst the current Covid-19 pandemic situation, it is streamlining the operations by reducing the operating and financing costs as well as through better utilisation of assets.
Through NFE, Qatar’s LNG production capacity is expected to be raised to 126mn tonnes per year (tpy) by 2027, representing a huge increase of 64% on the current 77mn tpy.
“Overall, GIS intends to drive further shareholder value through expansion programmes that will grow market share domestically and internationally, and by optimising its finance costs contributing towards the group’s greater financial flexibility to better leverage its advantages and pursue a growth strategy that maximises shareholder value,” Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani, GIS chairman told shareholders at the annual general assembly meeting held electronically.
A contract for six new offshore rigs has already been awarded, which will benefit the Gulf Drilling International (GDI), and the project would increase demand for GIS’s aviation and catering businesses which is expected to grow its business domestically in the medium term, he said.
GDI is poised to maintain its current market share by securing renewals and increase its market presence in offshore services by bidding to win new tenders, internationally, with better pricing.
Under NFE, GDI has firm contract period ranging from 2.7 years to 3.5 years and an option to extend for additional three years. GDI created a new joint venture with Sea Drill in the Qatar Financial Center during 2019, to deploy rigs for this new contract.
GDI will enhance its reputation on a global scale by operating these technically demanding rigs. Moreover, it is positioning itself for global opportunities, which would not only boost utilisation and cash flows, but also provide avenues to diversify internationally. The company is currently bidding various international opportunities in drilling with international and national oil companies for diversifying its geographical client base.
In the aviation segment, Gulf Helicopters (GHC) is focused on growing internationally through selective investments and tapping new business opportunities by leveraging its strategic relationships with international oil and gas companies. GHC also has a priority to increase its maintenance and overhaul business both domestically and internationally.
“Looking ahead, the aviation segment is poised to unlock more business in Qatar as increased demand from the nation’s NFE natural gas expansion project drives greater exploration activity and growth in the fleet. The continued focus on key international markets that require extensive oil and gas aviation services will drive growth and shareholder value,” GIS said.
GHC is focused on tapping opportunities for its inorganic growth potential across the world. GHC’s recent acquisition of a 49% stake in Air Ocean Maroc is also set to spur growth, as the Moroccan joint venture explores new opportunities in Morocco, Western Africa and Southern Europe. In the insurance segment, Al-Koot is focused to increase its medical segment market share domestically with better terms and an aim to minimising loss ratio. International business is expected to grow with new clients and investments to provide optimal returns.
The segment is continuing to re-price current contracts and improve management of claims, to ensure loss ratio is maintained below its set target.
The catering business is focused domestically on building market share by winning new clients through aggressive pricing and cost-modeling, and by pushing forward on its continuous rationalisation programmes.
“Qatar’s catering services market is expected to grow at a positive rate through to 2024,” GIS said, adding this would be mainly driven by the NFE project and FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where a high volume of visitors are expected.
This would further increase demand for catering and accommodation services in the hospitality sector, where Amwaj is well positioned to act on these opportunities, it said.
Business / Business
GIS pinning hopes on North Field expansion, World Cup for growth
