Depth, breadth and data
Fresh from the merger with Baker Hughes, GE Oil & Gas boss tells Petroleum Economist about his firm's plans for digital analysis, cost-cutting and recovery
Lorenzo Simonelli, head of GE Oil & Gas, can point to glimmers of hope, if not signs of a rampant recovery. The oil and gas division recorded organic growth in orders of 2% in the fourth quarter of 2016, stemming the declines of the previous two years. "Having orders flat in the fourth quarter is a good sign," he told Petroleum Economist in an interview at the company's annual meeting in Florence. "We are starting to see projects starting to come back and we are focused on making sure we can capture that recovery." There's still a long way to go. GE Oil & Gas's Q4 2016 revenues were $12.9bn, almost a quarter below year-earlier levels. So the firm was no more immune to income losses d
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat






