Offshore staff
HOUSTON– McDermott International Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Aramco for a long-term land lease at the new maritime facility at Ras Al Khair in Saudi Arabia, currently being developed by Saudi Aramco.
With a long-term phased approach, McDermott plans to build a new fabrication and marine complex that will feature state-of-the-art facilities, increased automation, and an optimized layout to increase the company’s abilities to service its growingMiddle East and Caspian markets.
The future fabrication facility at Ras Al Khair is expected to provide up to 16 million man hours of capacity, up from 8 million man hours at its current Jebel Ali facilities. A gradual transition from McDermott’s operations in Jebel Ali is expected by the mid-2020s.
The company says the move also demonstrates its support ofSaudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and Saudi Aramco’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) program. The IKTVA program intends to expand KSA-based business operations to help drive domestic value creation and maximize long-term economic growth, diversification, job creation, and workforce development.
McDermott President and CEO David Dickson said: “We are excited about this strategic move and believe it expands and strengthens our ability to service all our growing Middle East markets and our decades-long leadership position with Saudi Aramco and in the Middle East.
“When we look at our next 50 years of business in the Middle East, we see strong benefits to moving our business operations toSaudi Arabia, including the opportunity to modernize our facilities, move closer to Saudi Aramco and other key customers in the region as well as provide McDermott’s world-class training programs to Saudi Arabia’s talented workforce to further enhance McDermott’s Middle East operations.”
03/08/2017
