Baker Hughes Company (BKR)

Baker Hughes builds first Namibian mud plant as exploration surges

Energy technology company Baker Hughes will construct a new liquid mud plant, and a separate assembly, maintenance and repair base at Namibia's Walvis Bay to cater to booming offshore exploration activities, a senior executive said. The project will help Namibia cope with an influx of drill rigs and support vessels that threatens to overwhelm its only two commercial ports, Walvis Bay and the smaller Luderitz, as they battle congestion and inadequate facilities. "It will be drilling fluids made in Namibia for Namibian wells, an important step in building its oil and gas industry," Tokunbo Azeez, executive director Baker Hughes Sub-Saharan Africa told Reuters of the country's first mud plant, expected to open by September.