Atex System has been involve by Total french company and Brunei Shell Petroleum company to participate a specific mission to Brunei

BRUNEI has become the number one target for the French Oil and Gas Industry Council to explore investment opportunities in the ASEAN region because of the country’s economic and political stability, its general manager said.

Benjamin Dupal (pic), general manager of the GEP-APAC, the council’s regional office, said that Brunei and Myanmar has become the prime target for them to bring French small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the oil and gas industry to.

"However, Myanmmar is currently undergoing transformation, and it is much more difficult and bureaucratic to do business in say Indonesia or China, so we want to develop strategic ties with the (Bruneian) authorities," said Dupal.

In an interview with The Brunei Times on the sidelines of a business-to-business (B2B) meeting amongst French and Bruneian companies in the oil and gas sector, Dupal said that GEP-AFTP wants to ensure that French companies can invest "somewhere safe". The latest developments in deep offshore explorations in Brunei, such as the oil blocks in the commercial areas has drawn French interest, he said.

"The development of the deep sea blocks is closely watched from the French perspective, especially with Total (the operators) being one of the leaders in the deep sea project, the industry has followed that, especially because the French are well-recognised for their work in the deep sea," said Dupal, adding that the French are one of the best for developing deep sea fields.

During the visit, GEP-APAC, with the French Trade Commission UBIFRANCE as well as nine other French companies met with PetroleumBRUNEI, the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), Brunei Shell Petroleum and Total.

Dupal said that the last time the GEP and UBIFRANCE was in Brunei was 18 months ago, where the two out of 10 companies had successfully formed partnerships with Bruneian companies.

"That’s why GEP is in the region. When SMEs from France come to the Southeast Asia, they return and the distance affects the continuity of the business (talks). Whereas if GEP is here, we can do follow-ups on the activity from Singapore and from there, we would also like to create bridges with PetroleumBRUNEI or BLNG, and the Energy Ministry," the GM said.

"Dialogues held with the Bruneian authorities will enable GEP to see what the requirements of the country are and identify within our members to see who will be able to setup business in not only the local but also regional market," he added.

Dupal expressed hope that he will be in discussion with the BEDB on a regular basis to explore more opportunities.

"I don’t believe in starting big, I believe in identifying first in a rationale way, which one of our members have interest in setting up in Brunei, and we have to work with Bruneian authorities to see which area Brunei needs services, or is interested in developing."

Michel Cywinski, UBIFRANCE’s trade commissioner and country director of Singapore and Brunei said that the two companies from 18 months ago are currently participating in a tender.

"Now, after 18 months, we’ve decided it was a good time to bring new companies, and all of these companies, except one, do not know Brunei. They have no business here, so it’s very important for them to meet potential companies. Especially focus on the local content issue, which is a key driver for oil and gas sector."

Cywinski said that the current delegation of nine companies were carefully selected, as all of them are possibly considering investing, or having some form of technology transfer to Brunei. "It’s very important for us to have a better selection of companies, and we hope this outing will be better than last time because the initial selection was stronger from the start," he said.The Brunei Times

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