McDermott, a leading provider of integrated EPCI (engineering, procurement, construction and installation) services for upstream field developments, said it has broken ground on its new fabrication facility at the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services in Ras Al Khair region of the kingdom.

The McDermott move comes following a significant milestone land lease agreement inked by its regional subsidiary McDermott Arabia Company with state oil giant Saudi Aramco in March last year.

Under this deal, McDermott would benefit from the complex wide infrastructure being developed by Saudi Aramco.

Such infrastructure includes employee accommodation, medial facilities and recreation areas that will support McDermott in attracting and retaining a workforce with a significant Saudi national content, it added.

As per the contract, McDermott will be building a state-of-the-art facility spanning 1.2 million sq m that will include offices, pre-fabrication shops, blasting and painting 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 sq m of covered shops to house the latest automation technology and will also include a 580-m reinforced bulkhead providing marine access, stated the global EPCI major.

Saudi Aramco senior vice-president (technical services) Ahmad A. Al-Sa'adi said: "The King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services would offer opportunities for strategic industries to operate and flourish in the Kingdom and enable localizing the maritime industry."

"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," remarked Mohammad Al Assaf, Saudi Aramco VP of New Business Development.

"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," added Al Assaf.

McDermott president and CEO David Dickson said: "The Safira fabrication yard enhances our long history and close relationship with Saudi Aramco, our largest customer, and demonstrates our commitment to the Saudi Vision 2030."

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.

McDermott senior vice-president (Middle East and North Africa) Linh Austin said: "This project will see a new world-class McDermott yard with innovative equipment, technology and processes."

"As the first EPC contractor to establish a full-scale fabrication facility in Saudi Arabia, we will build on generations of knowledge and experience within McDermott to create something extraordinary. But this project is also about people, and we will continue building our in-kingdom engineering and procurement offices as well as sourcing and developing local talent on all levels in the company," stated Austin.-TradeArabia News Service