Saudi Aramco and McDermott have broken ground on a 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.
Within the development, McDermott is building a state-of-the-art facility spanning 1.2 million square metres that will include offices, pre-fabrication shops, blasting 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 metres of covered shops to house the latest automation technology and will also include a 580-metre reinforced bulkhead providing marine access.
“The King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services will offer opportunities for strategic industries to operate and flourish in the kingdom and enable localising the maritime industry,” said Ahmad A. Al-Sa’adi, Saudi Aramco senior vice president of technical services.
Mohammad Al Assaf, Saudi Aramco vice president of new business development, said: “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.”
Al Assaf added: “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.”
In March 2019, Saudi Aramco signed a land lease agreement with McDermott Arabia Company, a subsidiary of McDermott International, to grant McDermott a lease to establish the 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, medical facilities and recreation areas that will support McDermott in attracting and retaining a workforce with a significant Saudi national content.
