Executive Outlook 2010
By Roberto Chellini
The world’s economic condition has raised a number of questions as to how producers of capital in-
tensive products plan and execute pro-
grams for survival. Secondly, how
strongly does consideration of market
position and share factor into prepara-
tions for the economic turnaround and
planning for the future. To gain insight
into and perspective of these questions,
we approached Tom Blades, CEO, Oil
& Gas Division of Siemens Energy
Sector to take advantage of his many
years of experience in the oil and gas
industry from both sides as a producer
and a supplier, encompassing up-
stream, midstream and downstream
segments of the energy supply train.
Tom Blades began his business carrier in 1978 after graduating in electrical engineering from Salford University
(U.K.) and Lyon in France. He joined Schlumberger, achieving the position of vice president and general manager of
Schlumberger/Geco-Prakla in 1993. In 1996, Blades moved
to Numar Corp. as COO and executive vice president. He
then joined Halliburton in 1997 as executive vice president
and in 1998 joined Spectro, where he held the position of
president and CEO for five years. In 2004, Blades became
president and CEO of Choren Industries, a position he held
for five years before joining Siemens Jan. 1, 2009, as CEO,
Oil & Gas Division of Siemens Energy Sector.
Tom Blades
CEO
Oil & Gas Division
of Siemens Energy Sector
Did joining a large manufacturing company, such as
Siemens, represent a great change after a career almost entirely spent in the oil and gas industry?
It has been, indeed, a great change — I turned my desk
around 180°. During the first 30 years of my career I was
serving the oil and gas industry from inside. Although I never
was in direct contact with Siemens products, I became acquainted with its line of products used by the oil and gas
industry, such as gas and steam turbines, electric motors,
compressors, controls, etc. I know of their application in
upstream, midstream and downstream processes, the problems they encounter in the oil and gas industry, and the
expectations and challenges the operators are posing to
the manufacturing industry. Now, after joining Siemens, I
view the industry from the other side. Siemens manufactures many of these machines and components — and I
must add the most technologically advanced ones — used
in the energy environment and I am in the position to know
our customers’ expectations.
but also with innovative ideas that our experts are developing in anticipation of future needs.
We are not just a compressor manufacturer. Within
Siemens, we have an array of products and services that allow us to develop packaged solutions where all the core
components are provided in-house. A single supplier
source has always had a special appeal to customers as it
de-risks their projects and accelerates completion times.
What impact has your previous experience had on the organization of the Siemens Oil & Gas Division you now lead?
Traditionally, Siemens has been a component supplier. However, nowadays customers are no longer looking for components, but solutions to problems. So we
had to shift from component supplier to
solution provider, reorganizing our internal structure to accomplish the transition. This is a general trend encountered
by other Siemens business units, but it is particularly exacerbated in the oil and gas industry. We are entering into a
partner-type relationship with our customers, providing
them with solutions to their current application problems,
Product-wise, what major developments are taking place
in the Oil & Gas Division of Siemens?
The ECO compressor has already been qualified for land-based natural gas compression applications and is now finishing the final preparation for qualification
in seabed applications. This test will take
place in Norway and is scheduled to be
completed by mid-2010.
Another interesting achievement in the
pipeline domain is development of the hybrid approach
for gas booster stations. Compressors installed on the
same pipeline are driven by gas turbines or electric motors depending on the location, availability of electric
power and requirements for low emissions. We have, in-house, all types of pipeline mechanical drives and can tai-
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2010 18 COMPRESSORTech Two
