Group CEO Kuah Boon Wee.
NextInsight file photoQ: I understand that there is still demand for subsea services in shallow waters, but not in deep waters. Which area are you focused on?
Kuah Boon Wee: I don’t think you can generalize on that.
Because of our focus in Southeast Asia, Australia and the Middle East, we are more into the shallow water activity. We do not have a physical presence in regions with deep water activity such as Brazil, North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Norway.
Q: Today’s oil prices are US$40 to US$50 a barrel. Is the pessimism as bad as the times when oil price was at US$10?
Kuah Kok Kim: In 1998, oil price was less than US$10 and we were profitable. The market condition that we experienced in 1998 was nowhere as bad as what we are seeing now. I have never seen such a bad market in all my years in the industry.
In recent years, an enormous amount of capital expenditure has been put into new equipment. The market has become saturated for us now.
