Saudi Aramco has granted a lease to McDermott to establish a fabrication facility located within the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries in Ras Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia.
This is pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Saudi Aramco and McDermott.
The new facility will be used for large scale fabrication of offshore platforms and onshore/offshore modules. To further enhance project execution capabilities in Saudi Arabia, McDermott will also expand its in-country engineering and procurement offices, as well as establish a new marine base in the Eastern Province to support installation of offshore platforms, subsea pipelines and cables, skids, and associated structures and assemblies.
“ This facility will serve as a major Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) hub for not only the Kingdom, but for the GCC region, ” said Ahmad Al Sa’adi , Saudi Aramco senior vice president of Technical Services.
“ Having this facility with International Maritime Industries (IMI) in the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries offers an integrated portfolio of maritime products and services ” said Mohammad Al Assaf , Saudi Aramco vice president of New Business Development. “The localization of these capabilities will contribute to diversifying the economy, create almost 7,000 jobs, and achieve a target of 60% Saudization by 2030. ”
The new facility in Ras Al Khair will be located near the Jubail Industrial City on the Kingdom’s east coast, and will cover an area of approximately 1,150,000 m2.
“ Expanding our fabrication capacity in Saudi Arabia demonstrates McDermott’s commitment to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives, ” said David Dickson , McDermott’s president and CEO.
“We will establish a world class fabrication facility that enables us to better serve the needs of Saudi Aramco and other customers in Saudi Arabia and across the region,” added Linh Austin , McDermott senior vice president, Middle East and North Africa.
At peak production, the facility will have a throughput capacity in excess of 60,000 metric tons per year. It will localize expertise in multiple disciplines related to the industry and is expected to create a significant number of direct and indirect job opportunities in the Kingdom. Apprenticeship and training programs will also be provided to ensure that a sufficient number of qualified nationals of the Kingdom are available for hire to meet the in-Kingdom content requirements.
The facility is expected to be operational by 2022.