Baker Hughes Reports Normal Operations Despite Middle East Tensions

All of Baker Hughes Middle Eastern projects are operating as normal, the oilfield services giant’s chief executive Lorenzo Simonelli has told Reuters.

“Currently, all of our employees are safe, and the facilities continue to run and operate,” Simonelli said. “Hopefully there’s a de-escalation of tensions.”

Israel and Iran continued firing missiles at each other over the weekend and today, suggesting such hopes may be premature at this point. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards corps said after the latest barrage that they were using a new attack method that cheated the Israeli defense systems to target each other instead of Iranian missiles, Reuters reported earlier today.

“The initiatives and capabilities used in this operation, despite the comprehensive support of the United States and Western powers and the possession of the most up-to-date and newest defense technology, led to the successful and maximum hitting of the missiles on the targets in the occupied territories,” the IRGC said.

Iran was due to resume talks with the United States on Sunday in Oman but canceled, saying it would not be negotiating a nuclear deal while under Israeli attack. Israel has vowed to step up the attacks.

Baker Hughes’ Simonelli, meanwhile, took a guarded stance on possible oil supply disruptions resulting from the Israeli-Iran war. “It’s a little early, and we’ve got to monitor the situation,” the top executive said, adding that “What we know is that demand is resilient, and we continue to see strong demand, and … if there are constraints in supply from one region, it will drive the supply opportunities from other regions.”

Energy analysts have pointed out that if Iranian oil exports—some 2.2 million barrels daily—are disrupted, Chinese refiners, who are the only buyers of Iranian crude, would turn to other OPEC members and Russia for alternative supply.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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