McDermott International has announced that one of its subsidiaries has signed a partnership agreement with Eng. Khalid Al Shoaibi, of the Shoaibi Group, to form McDermott Arabia Engineering, a company specialising in engineering and consulting services to the offshore oil and gas industry in Saudi Arabia.
The new office, based in Al Khobar, has been operational since July and was officially inaugurated on the 12th of October 2011 by Stephen Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive officer, McDermott, and Khalid Al Shoaibi, Shoaibi group director.
The new office provides a full suite of engineering services; from Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) through to offshore commissioning, complementing McDermott’s existing turnkey, engineering, procurement, construction, and installation services.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Johnson said, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a major engineering and industrial hub in the Middle East and we at McDermott are pleased to be able to partner with a local industry expert to launch our new office and develop and grow our engineering capabilities in the Kingdom.”
With access to the best in-house engineers, project managers, fabrication and offshore installation personnel combined with more than 40 years practical experience operating in the Gulf, the company will deliver engineering solutions, focusing on constructability and ease of installation.
“The new office will also play a major role in developing Saudi Arabian engineers and we will focus on growing such talent through McDermott’s well established Graduate Engineer Development Program, which provides excellent on-the-job training in all engineering disciplines associated with the offshore construction industry,” said Johnson.
“As Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector expands rapidly, we have identified an opportunity for McDermott to grow its capabilities by offering engineering and technical services,” said Eng. Khalid S. Al Shoaibi. “The most significant achievement of this partnership is that it will enable employment of Saudi nationals, as well as provide Saudi graduate engineers invaluable experience and the opportunity to work on large scale engineering projects in Saudi Arabia.”
