With non-stop, 24-hour working crews, Argas places staff training and employee trust at the helm of its business strategy.

Geophysical methods have always contributed significantly to geologic mapping and exploration for hydrocarbons, minerals and aquifers in Saudi Arabia. Heading the list of companies engaged in this activity is the Arabian Geophysical Surveying Company (Argas), a joint venture set up by French firm Compagnie Générale de Géophysique (CGG) and Saudi state organization Petromin in 1966. Its objectives are to provide all types of geophysical and surveying services in the country and to train Saudi nationals in state-of-the-art geophysical technology.

The firm works mainly as a contractor to oil giant Saudi Aramco. Using the latest instrumentation and equipment, Argas crews work non-stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in seismic pre-surveying and two- and three-dimensional profiling. The ultimate goal of the company is to work all over the Gulf region.

Argas takes pride in providing the best for its staff, including putting them through two-year training programs to be top in the business. “We invest in our people,” says Habib Muzaffar Merghelani, Managing Director of Argas for the past 12 years. Mr. Merghelani believes strongly in Saudization, a national priority. At the moment, 42% of the workforce is made up of Saudi nationals.
Electricity production is of growing importance to the country’s energy sector. According to Tariq A. Al-Betairi, Executive Vice-President of the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), demand is rising and will increase by single digits for the next 20 years. He too places a strong emphasis on Saudization, where the company registers 81%. “Our objective in SEC is to promote a higher standard of living for our people and to improve the competitive position of the kingdom in the world economy,” he states.