Doug Pferdehirt talks about the first year of TechnipFMC

 

Doug Pferdehirt

Q. It’s now a year since TechnipFMC was formed. What has been achieved in that time, and how has the industry responded?

Doug Pferdehirt (DP): First of all, I want to say that I’m tremendously proud of what we’ve achieved together over the past 12 months.The market is embracing our merger enthusiastically.

As TechnipFMC we are driving technology advancements and are building on our market position through our trademarked integrated offerings; iFEED® , iEPCITM and iLOF®. These are hugely important, as they allow us to offer a unique commercial model. Our iFEED® offering creates new market opportunities unique to TechnipFMC. The iEPCITM proposition is a real differentiator and the market acceptance of it has been robust. And iLOF® is a growth engine, building on the fact that we have the largest installed base of any company in the industry.

Q. What challenges are we facing in the near future?

DP: Our market continues to face challenging times. Commodity price uncertainty means that our clients take time to sanction projects and these delays have an impact on our industry. However, we must embrace such challenges and deliver the real change necessary to sustainably improve project economics. We have the synergies, a unique capability and a new way of thinking.

We can react to and meet industry needs. Our leaner company structure is designed to respond to this demand and to ensure we maintain and grow our market-leading position.

Q. Which projects currently under way are really showcasing our capabilities?

DP: We have a broad portfolio and all of our projects are important, but one of our most recent contract awards in Subsea was for our sixth and largest iEPCI™ project to date for the VNG Norge Fenja development in the Norwegian Sea.

There are also the FLNG projects in our Onshore/Offshore business. These include the Prelude FLNG unit, the largest floating structure ever built and now based at its operating location off the Western Australia coast and our recent award of the ENI Coral FLNG project in Mozambique. Yamal LNG is a hugely challenging venture in the Siberian Arctic and is our biggest project to date. In November 2017, Yamal produced its first liquefied natural gas.

Q: What change do you envisage in our industry?

DP: This is a critical time for the oil and gas sector. The emergence of the unconventional market in North America drove structural change in our industry. We are benefiting from this in terms of increased activity in our North American (NAM) Surface Technologies business where we are introducing new integrated commercial models.

We’re currently in a tough market and we can expect further consolidation and regulatory changes. In this evolving landscape, we need to be nimble and flexible. At the same time, we must retain safety and quality as absolute priorities. Our technology will deliver real change to our industry, extending asset life and improving returns.
Technology and innovation is very much in our DNA and we have a rich history in this area.