Exclusive interview - George Antonopoulos, SETE

George Antonopoulos, CEO of SETE.
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Owned by the international Latsis Group, SETE Energy has maintained a presence in Saudi Arabia for almost four decades now, and has been involved in some significant projects in that time. In its capacity as an EPC contractor and developer, the company has been associated with major refinery complexes, industrial infrastructure, process water treatment plants and civil and marine works projects.

“We have a good, traceable track record in the Kingdom,” says the company’s CEO George Antonopoulos. “We have always delivered on our promises, and we believe in Saudi Arabia – we have always demonstrated our belief in the country by investing.”

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“We have a lot of respect for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has some clear visions,” he says. “We are very happy to be a part of the development by putting our money back in to where we have earned it.”

Today, SETE’s operations cover the full water spectrum from desalination to the treatment of industrial waste water, in addition to the power and steam
generation sectors of its portfolio.

“Power is not a new thing for SETE,” explains Antonopoulos. “We have done power plants and we’ve done steam generation plants, but now we see that there is a big need for new projects to combine power and water, and sometimes power, steam and water.

We want to be a market force in this sector, and we can attract the right international partnerships.” With companies the world over clamouring to do business in the Kingdom, what is the environment like for EPC contractors?

“Being an international company we have the means to compare with other countries, and I can assure you that the rules and regulations and the transparency we see in Saudi Arabia, we do not see in many other parts of the developed world,” he says.

“The rules of the game are very clear in Saudi Arabia. The routes are clear and fair and transparency is to the highest degree. Simply put, there are two main steps – if you fulfill the technical requirements, then you go to step two – commercial. If you are also commercially the most acceptable, then you meet the requirements and the job is yours. It’s as simple as that.”

Lately, the company has taken the decision to concentrate on the general power and water business and, based in Saudi Arabia, the outlook is positive. “There are good opportunities ahead of us, both on the EPC front as well as investment opportunities,” says Antonopoulos.

“There are also further privatisation plans in Saudi Arabia, and we have not yet expanded into any other GCC countries because we have always been busy in Saudi Arabia – it’s a locomotive economy.”

However, this is all about to change as SETE looks to new markets in the Middle East.
“Recently, a decision has been taken at Latsis Group level that SETE Energy will expand into Qatar, and we are going to go into a broader spectrum of activities, not just power and water,” Antonopoulos reveals.