As president and CEO of GE in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, Nabil habayeb has more than 30 years of involvement across the company’s operations in the region, as well as specifically in Qatar, which is one of the energy multinational’s key markets in the Arab world. In Doha as a guest for the country’s 40th anniversary celebrations in late September, Habayeb spoke exclusively to TheEDGE’s Miles Masterson about GE’s relationship with Qatar, and also revealed how he too has an intimate, personal connection with the country.

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THE PERSONALT uch

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nabil Habayeb was born and educated in Lebanon, and is now based at GE’s regional headquarters in Dubai. Though soft spoken

and amiable, when discussing GE’s various operations in Qatar and the company’s close relationship with Doha, the importance of the country to Hayabeb is obvious in his conviction. GE has been operating in Qatar for more than 30 years and Hayabeb – who holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering – has been working in the company since 1982. GE, which so far has injected more than US$100 million (QR364 million) into Qatar, he says, is heavily invested in the country’s future.

GE’s activities in Qatar are as wide-ranging as the government’s diversification agenda. The company’s operations naturally encompass involvement in the oil and gas sector, in the form of a long-term partnership with RasGas’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) and sales production complex in Ras Laffan, and notably but less recently, with the building of five ‘super energy’ trains – liquefaction purification facilities – in 2005. It includes Qatar Service Centre of Oil and Gas, also in Ras Laffan, which among other things focuses on the research and development of new technologies and environmentally friendly deployment of the country’s hydrocarbon reserves, with special attention being paid to the application of advanced turbo machinery.

Beyond that, in April 2011 GE opened its Advanced Technology Research Centre (GEATRC) at Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) in Doha. According to a company press statement, this is in line with GE’s four business divisions in Oil and Gas, Global Research, Aviation and Healthcare, and the facility aims to focus on applied research and knowledge transfer in these key areas, in order to augment and help to drive Qatar’s social and economic growth. Also opened in Doha in April 2011, GE has a Global Water Sustainability Centre in partnership with ConocoPhillips, to innovate water solutions for hydrocarbon sector, as well as municipal and agricultural use.

Moreover, GE has other vital partnerships here, with Qatar Steel to provide complete

“When we take a look at GE’s portfolio, we are a company that has 20 years of strong focus in research and development, which is where education becomes extremely important. So the match between what Qatar needs and what GE can provide is great. It is a perfect fit.”

GE has invested US$50 million (QR182 million) in the Advanced Technology Research Centre (GEATRC) at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), bringing the company’s total investment in Qatar to US$100 million (QR364 million). Pictured is one of the aviation bays used in the facility to provide education and training in jet engine maintenance and technical and mechanical services to airline customers.

production management solutions; Qatar Airlines, to provide GEnx engines for its 60-strong Airbus A350 fleet; Al Shaheen Energy in gas pipelines solutions and aftermarket services in turbo machinery; and manufacturing, in the form a facility opened in late 2010 in partnership with Doha’s Al

Farraj Trading and Manufacturing Company (FTMC) to assemble GE electrical equipment for supply throughout the region.

The company also has a 50-50 partnership with Qatar Foundation (QF) in the form of a headquarters for GE’s healthcare information technology (IT), which aims to transform

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Qatar into a global a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, research and education in this sector. “When we take a look at GE’s portfolio,” Hayabeb expands, “we are a company that has 20 years of strong focus in research and development, which is where education becomes extremely important. So the match between what Qatar needs and what GE can provide is great.

“It is a perfect fit.”

ValuEd PaRTnERshIPsHayabeb is complimentary about

how Qatar’s leadership has encouraged collaboration with companies such as GE.

“What we have seen in Qatar is that the leadership, particularly the leadership in the Ministry of Energy and Qatar Petroleum and His Excellency Abdulla Al Attiyah,” he explains, “and now Dr. Salah Al Sada as well, carrying on – has been great in being able to line up companies like GE; [to] trust in what we say...and taking a chance on big multinationals and technology. The super energy trains that we built were breakthrough technologies and Qatar was the first country in the world to take this technology and implement it and that is because of the trust in GE…and in our capability.”

GE’s Oil and Gas Centre in Ras Laffan, feels Hayabeb, has also been a great example of the company’s commitment in the sector. “We moved our regional headquarters for oil and gas to be based in Doha,” he adds. “If we take a look at the others…the same examples can be applied in healthcare [and the] water sector, as well as Qatar Airways.

“Qatar Airways is one of the major airlines for us,” Hayabeb continues, using GE’s relationship with the Doha-based airline as an example of how Qataris value working together with companies such as GE. Qatar’s officials and businessmen, he says, understand that open collaboration with large companies – albeit underpinned by a vigorous deal-making process and subsequent accountability to deliver on expectations – is key to achieving the country’s goals.

“The biggest thing that Qatar has is that you get great people who value the concept of partnership,” adds Hayabeb, “because the

growth is huge, the opportunity is huge and we can only realise it by partnering on it.”

GE’s collaboration with Qatar’s FTMC in the creation of the Al Farraj electrical component facility, Habayeb agrees, is another good example of a strong and productive local partnership.

Though TheEDGE put forward that Qatar is not necessarily known for smaller scale manufacturing, Nabayeb countered that with the downstream petrochemical plants and other kinds of industry, the country is in fact geared towards this kind of production which makes it as good a location for manufacturing as any country in the region.

“I think you get the same parameter scale,” he maintains. “You get the same benefits. You can discover different markets. You get a strong partner [so] this whole thing...if it makes economic sense, we will do it.”

a FuTuRE InVEsTmEnTNevertheless, a cynic may observe

Qatar’s phenomenal economic growth, and the potential retruns this presents to outside companies that could be construed as opportunistic. Some are suspected of only entering the state to turn as much profit as possible, but Hayabeb is adamant GE is not a company of that ilk. The firm, he explains, is involved here in many different industries. Some of these industries may see growth at a time when others may slow down – and their

cycle maybe out of sync with overall growth – so they have taken a wider and more long-term view out of necessity.

“What differentiates us from others is that we are not just a company that goes in and invests in one sector or have one product to sell,” he underlines further. “It is not like we are a bank that we come in and say ‘we want money from here’. When there is a problem in a hospital, we are not going to pack up and go, because we have invested in healthcare [as well as] education and aviation.”

Indeed, Habayeb again turns to GE’s involvement in the latter sector to make his point. The training facility at GEATRC in Doha, he says, is the largest of its kind outside of the United States (US). Among others, the facility provides education and training in jet engine maintenance and technical and mechanical services to airline customers. This, Habayeb adds, is not just important for Qatar but also for the region, as individuals from the Gulf, Ethopia and as far afield as Germany have been through the facility.

We have trained over a 160 people so far,” says Habayeb. “That is progress specifically in line with what our partners are expecting.”

Another example Habayeb then mentions is in the healthcare sector and the partnership with QF, particularly in mammography, which is of notable significance as breast cancer is on the increase in the region. “The research we are doing has been a great success,”

“I think it is clear that everybody is focusing on diversification of the economy for sustainability. I think leveraging technology, spending on education and improving the lives of people and focusing on innovation are the areas that will help sustain and overcome a lot of these issues.”

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he says, “and we are going to apply that technology globally. So overall we are very pleased with the progress of these centres.”

waTER and EnERgyEffective water conservation – especially

with regard to use in industrial equipment, in an economy so reliant on hydrocarbon sector – and the development of sustainable energy practices and solutions for the future, are a further two areas where GE is highly active in Qatar. Beginning with the former, GE’s partnership with ConocoPhillips in the Global Water Sustainability Centre, is high priority project that has already reaped benefits for the industry and beyond in the eight months since its inauguration.

Much research here, clarifies Habayeb, is focused on purifying water used in an industrial application for re-use. Developing technology for effective desalination is another of GE’s focuses in the water sector, as is recycling municipal wastewater for use in farming and similar purposes. “We can actually take raw sewage and turn that better than the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard for drinking water,” he exemplifies. “A lot of people would not drink that, but they can use it for irrigation.”

“This is in addition to awareness and education around conservation of energy, because it is a very important necessity and there is a crisis,” Habayeb adds. “The important thing is to [also] continue looking at means to reduce the cost of the water.”

GE is also very much involved in renewable energy. Habayeb discusses how, though it is not a large focus on the Gulf (an area not known for excessive movement of surface air), wind power is one of the largest businesses that GE have within its energy sector and this has been a great success around the world. However, thanks to an abundance of sunlight here, solar energy is an area of considerable focus, particularly when it comes to enhance the energy efficiency of gas turbines, for example.

“We just announced recently that the FlexEfficiency gas turbine,” he describes, “which is combined with concentrated solar power and raises the efficiency of a whole plant to close to 70 percent, which is by far highest than any other manufacturer.”

GE’s top executive in the Middle East is proud of his company’s investment in and commitment to Qatar and is complimentary on how Doha leadership and business sectors have embraced working together for mutual benefit.

Nuclear energy, Habayeb continues, is also another aspect of this sector that GE is taking seriously. Despite much protestation from environmental activists following the disaster at Fukishima in Japan earlier this year, Habayeb is adamant that this sector is ripe for growth in the Gulf and his company will be involved in the development of this energy source in years to come. “Nuclear energy is something that people are very much looking at and exploring as an alternative means of power generation,” he says.

“Nuclear energy is a big thing that is important for that governments of the region,” Habayeb furthers. “Qatar has announced that they are also looking at the nuclear energy, Jordan, UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco…and when the governments fulfil the legal requirements on a global basis to proceed with that, we will then be in a position to talk to them about what we can provide from a technology point of view.

“I think it is clear that everybody is focusing on diversification of the economy for sustainability. People are focusing on the whole issue of food security, water security and energy security,” he adds. “Leveraging technology, spending on education and improving the lives of people and focusing on innovation are the areas that will help sustain and overcome many of these issues.”

a PERsonal connEcTIonWhen the conversation returns to GE’s

presence in the region, Habeyeb becomes animated, and goes back to his earlier point about remaining in Qatar for the long haul.

“Being on the ground makes all difference,” he says. “It is about a personal touch. It is about continuity. It is about long-term plans. People who are opportunistic and just want to come in for a short-term gain and leave – may get the short-term gain, but they may not get their long-term benefits. We have realized the importance of being here.

“Qatar is very dear to GE,” Habayeb then says, “but it is also very dear to me personally.” Indeed, as Habayeb goes on to reveal, his father and uncle worked in construction in Mesaieed in the 1940s and 1950s, and he recalls how his father would relate stories to him of his experiences in Qatar as a young child, the start of a lifelong affinity with the Gulf state.

“My father just turned 93 and has moved in to live with us,” Habayeb says, “and as we were moving his things, I ran across his driver’s license from 1949, issued in Qatar. [If] you take a look at how the country has transformed, and how he was part of a construction company that helped build the country, what GE can bring now [and] how we are taking Qatar to a totally different level – this gives me personal connection to the country.”