McDermott in groundbreaking ceremony for Saudi yard

Saudi Aramco and McDermott have reached a milestone with McDermott breaking ground on its new fabrication facility within the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services in Ras Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia.

The overall site, which is being developed by Saudi Aramco, is expected to be the largest maritime industries complex in the Kingdom and the Middle East region in terms of production, capacity, and scale, McDermott said on Tuesday announcing the milestone.

Within the development, McDermott said it is building a facility spanning 1.2 million square meters that will include offices, pre-fabrication shops, blasting and painting shops and large assembly shops capable of fabricating platforms and modules for both offshore and onshore projects for Saudi Aramco and other customers in the region.

The facility will incorporate up to 80,000 square meters of covered shops to house the latest automation technology and will also include a 580-meter reinforced bulkhead providing marine access.

“The Saudi Aramco team has been working tirelessly for a number of years to create the infrastructure from which McDermott and the other anchor tenants within the Complex are able to establish their facilities,” said Mohammad Al Assaf, Saudi Aramco Vice President of New Business Development.

“With McDermott breaking ground, we move a step closer to the Complex acting as a hub for job creation and supply chain development in accordance with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives,” added Al Assaf.

“The SAFIRA fabrication yard enhances our long history and close relationship with Saudi Aramco, our largest customer, and demonstrates our commitment to the Saudi Vision 2030,” said David Dickson, McDermott President and Chief Executive Officer.

Linh Austin, McDermott Senior Vice President, Middle East and North Africa, said: “As the first EPC Contractor to establish a full-scale fabrication facility in Saudi Arabia, we will build on generations of knowledge and experience within McDermott to create something extraordinary. But this project is also about people, and we will continue building our in-Kingdom engineering and procurement offices as well as sourcing and developing local talent on all levels in the company.”

In March 2019, Saudi Aramco signed a land lease agreement with McDermott Arabia Company, Ltd., a subsidiary of McDermott International, to grant McDermott a lease to establish this fabrication facility.

Under the provisions of the land lease agreement, McDermott will benefit from the Complex wide infrastructure that is being developed by Saudi Aramco. Such infrastructure includes employee accommodation, medial facilities, and recreation areas.

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