Which major oil and gas clients do you work with?
We have been serving the Middle East market from our Jebel Ali base for more than 16 years and have developed strong relationships with end users such as Saudi Aramco, Kuwait Oil Company, Kuwait National Petroleum Co, RasGas, Gazprom Neft, Gasco, ADCO, Qatar Petroleum, and QatarGas, as well as international EPCs such as Petrofac, JGC, Saipem, Fluor, Daelim, and Tecnicas Reunidas.
Alderley is a market leader in the supply of bespoke engineering packages for custody transfer/fiscal measurement solutions, produced water treatment solutions, hydraulic onshore and offshore control systems, and skid mounted package units from our manufacturing facilities in Jebel Ali, UAE, and Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
We are currently commissioning the last few skids for the KOC Telemetry project executed by Daelim – approximately worth $45mn – and from Qatar Petroleum for the new stream integration project in Mesaieed, Qatar, worth more than $8mn. The team is in the process of executing three different packages for Saudi Aramco’s Jazan Refinery and Terminal Project, which have a combined value of more than $30mn.
How do you develop the skills of your workforce and ensure HSE standards are met?
We look at skills development needs from an employee level and at a group level to ensure that we provide technical, management and leadership training and development across all operating companies. The company also prides itself on meeting stringent North Sea standards and replicating the same standards in the Middle East. We are OHSAS 18001:2007 certified and also abide by the HSE regulations imposed by the Jebel Ali Free Zone authorities.
What can we expect from the company in 2016?
The current throughput at Alderley FZE, as well as work in progress, adds to a healthy sales funnel for the more mature markets of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The ‘new’ Iranian market also presents a great opportunity for us going forward, as we already have strong installed bases in the region. We have secured a fair share of the market, including the KNPC Clean Fuels Project for the Mina Abdullah, Saudi Aramco NAUG System, and a metering project for the Saudi Electric Company Power Plant 14 Project.
What distinguishes Alderley from its competitors?
We are a 100% systems integrator with no bias to a vendor or product. We are a solutions provider that uses the latest proven technologies to cater to customers’ needs, and not off-the-shelf products. We have arguably the best project management teams at our command, and the delivery leaders are by far the ‘who’s who’ in their field. We are the only fully fledged and autonomous company of this kind in the region.
What is your opinion of the standard of EPC projects in the region’s oil and gas industry?
The standard has seen a decline in the past decade or so, and focus has been on commercial bias. EPCs continue in a race to the bottom, which impacts the overall quality of project execution and, ultimately, returns. It has been a task for NOCs to contractually ensure that the EPCs do not waver from previously established standards on lump-sum projects. The smarter EPCs are adopting the same principles in the contracts with their vendors in kind. Overall, this helps weed out the poor performers, though it is often at a cost to the market.
Improvement needs to start with NOC budgets. To ensure technical compliance, robust designs and the quality of products must matter more than price. When it comes to specialty engineering, they should work closely with the experts, and importantly trust their experience, as quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.
