Baker Hughes, a US-based products and services provider for the global petroleum market, has announced the opening of a new operations centre in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, as part of its expansion plans for the kingdom. In addition to repair and maintenance capabilities, the new centre will allow local teams to remotely manage and monitor operations in the region and to collaborate with clients and the company's technology experts located across the world, the company said. Baker Hughes also plans to construct a multi-million dollar research and technology centre in King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) Dhahran Techno-Valley in 2011.