Saudi Arabian energy giant Aramco and Indian conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) announced Tuesday that the two firms would work to develop manufacturing capabilities in the Kingdom.
The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining how the collaboration would take place, with L&T’s efforts to establish the region’s first Heavy Wall Pressure Vessels facility at Saudi Arabia’s strategically located Jubail Industrial City highlighted in a statement.
“This manufacturing facility, once completed, will provide a large number of skilled job opportunities for Saudi youth, localize the “know how” of heavy wall vessels in the Kingdom, and deploy the latest manufacturing technologies to serve the Kingdom and MENA region. We expect this facility to help Aramco and others in the Kingdom to increase localisation and optimise capital cost,” Ahmed Sa’adi, Aramco’s senior vice president of technical services, said in the statement.
The announcement is in line with Aramco’s Namaat programme, launched in September, which aims to tap Saudi Arabia’s undeveloped potential, create value and increase economic growth and diversification.
“We believe this is another significant milestone for L&T in the Kingdom and a strong testimony to our commitment to the development of the region. We wish to express our gratitude to Saudi Aramco for their guidance and support in the Kingdom,” S. N. Subrahmanyan, L&T’s CEO, said.
Construction is due to start on the facility imminently, with production expected to begin by Q3 2022. The facility will be spread out over an area of 120,000 square metres and will produce equipment for several industries, including for the power and oil and gas sectors.
The news comes amid a flurry of announcements by Aramco.
Last week, Aramco announced that it had signed five agreements with French companies on a variety of projects.
The agreements included an announcement between Aramco and French renewable energy technology firm Gaussin to establish a modern manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia focused on on-road and off-road hydrogen powered vehicles.
“Such collaboration helps us to advance economic growth in the Kingdom as part of the Namaat industrial investment program and takes us a step closer to our shared vision of a more sustainable future,” he added.
Aramco also announced MoUs with French companies Air Liquide, on low carbon hydrogen and ammonia production, and an additional agreement on carbon capture & sequestration (CCS); Alteia, on developing advanced artificial intelligence geospatial imagery interpretation and processing in the Kingdom; and Axens, on Saudi-based manufacturing and maintenance services of furnaces and fired heaters.
