“Lower for longer is the new normal”

Baker Hughes, a GE Company head Lorenzo Simonelli says newly merged firm is already adapting to the industry’s leaner environment

Expect to see more consolidation between oil and gas companies offering services at different stages of the process, says Lorenzo Simonelli. He now presides over the merged Baker Hughes, a GE Company—or BHGE, as it is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. At a meeting on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress on 10 July, he pointed to the underlying logic of the merger. BHGE is now the world's largest manufacturer of oilfield equipment with its second-biggest oilfield-services provider. At a time when efficiency and cutting cost are paramount, it's the kind of scale he thinks will yield growth. "We are starting to see some consolidation in drilling, and with the big players in Norway