Saudi Aramco to grant McDermott lease for fabrication facility in giant maritime complex

Saudi Aramco has signed a land lease agreement with McDermott Arabia Company, a subsidiary of McDermott International, to grant McDermott a lease 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 in March 2017 between Saudi Aramco and McDermott.

McDermott said on Tuesday that 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.

Mohammad Al Assaf, Saudi Aramco Vice President of New Business Development, said: “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.”

“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,” Al Assaf added.

The giant complex

The new facility in Ras Al Khair will be located near the Jubail Industrial City on the Kingdom’s east coast. It will cover an area of approximately 1,150,000 m2.

“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,” said 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, McDermott said.

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.

The King Salman International Complex is a commercial maritime project said to be the largest of its kind in the region in terms of service capacity.

In December 2016 Saudi king Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud laid the cornerstone of the giant, multi-billion maritime complex. Another milestone happened in August 2017 when Saudi Aramco signed a contract with a consortium comprising Saudi Archirodon Company and Huta Hegerfeld AG Saudia Company for dredging, reclamation, and marine structures for the huge project.

In January 2018 Saudi Aramco, Lamprell, Bahri, and Hyundai Heavy Industries officially launched their International Maritime Industries (IMI) joint venture that would be responsible for the management of the maritime and offshore yard being built in Ras Al-Khair.

Lamprell was named a technical partner in two zones focusing on construction of jack-up drilling rigs as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul services for jack-up drilling rigs and commercial vessels, with HHI taking responsibility for the two zones focusing on the construction and MRO services for offshore support vessels and the construction of commercial vessels.