Rising crude oil price good for Scomi

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- Oil and gas services provider Scomi Group Bhd expects the rising global crude oil price to positively impact its performance."It is quite positive, but it doesn't really matter whether the oil prices are high or low as the company has built a long term strategy," Scomi group chief executive officer Shah Hakim Zain told reporters after attending the Scomi MyKids programme here today.Oil price hit US$80 per barrel last week, the highest since it began trading on the New York futures market in 1983. This was despite concerns about supply during winter.On the company's business, Shah Hakim said Scomi Group's oilfield services division was expecting positive contributions from its Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico markets in the next two years.The contributions will come mainly from drilling fluids and drilling waste management solutions, he said, adding that the division contributed about 60 percent to the group's total revenue.Scomi Group has four core businesses, namely oilfield services, energy and logistics engineering, production enhancement and energy logistics.Commenting on its subsidiary, Scomi Engineering Bhd's move into the monorail and bus-making business, Shah Hakim said it was a positive move as there was increasing demand for such facilities.Early this month, a report from Aseambankers Bhd said Scomi Group expected to see its profit almost double this year.For the second quarter ended June 30, 2007, its pre-tax profit surged to RM182.55 million from RM28.54 million in the previous corresponding period.