Saudi Aramco signs land lease deal with McDermott for KSA facility

State-owned Saudi Aramco signed a land lease agreement with McDermott Arabia Company Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of McDermott International, the oil giant said in a statement.

The agreement will grant McDermott a lease to establish a fabrication facility located within the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries in Ras Al-Khair in Saudi Arabia.

The new facility will be used for large scale fabrication of offshore platforms and onshore/offshore modules, the statement added.

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.

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 1.1 square meters and will utilize cutting-edge technologies to ensure world class standards in safety, quality and efficiency. 

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.