Houston-based McDermott International announced the construction of new highly-developed facilities in Saudi Arabia to support its operations in the Middle East, as well as support Aramco’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) program.
McDermott continues to develop infrastructure in the fields of wind energy and other renewable energies in the kingdom.
McDermott President and CEO David Dickson stated that the two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) signed between McDermott and Aramco, support Vision 2030 and Aramco's initiative to enhance its added value and presence inside the Kingdom. He added that this complies with the initiatives launched in Saudi Arabia and the ability to provide local solutions to meet the needs of the modern business environment.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dickson expected that the two new facilities, set to be built in Ras al-Kheir, will enhance McDermott's manufacturing capacity in the Middle East from 8 million hours to 16 million hours a year, which will provide better service in the Middle East and other regions.
Dickson emphasized that McDermott is committed to using the local Saudi competencies to operate its facilities and develop their expertise, adding that he looks forward to recruiting and developing qualified Saudi talent at a high level in the Kingdom.
He stressed that oil and gas will continue to play an important role in meeting the world's energy needs in the foreseeable future.
Dickson also expects McDermott to play a key role in developing some of the infrastructure in wind and other renewable energy markets because of its growing importance and compatibility with many of the manufacturing, installation and project implementation needs.
He stressed that the oil and gas will remain at the heart of the work of McDermott, but there are other opportunities to expand the scope of its work beyond that.
"We are fully committed to supporting Aramco's added value within the Kingdom, and although we have come a long way in this area, we need to do more, and we are focusing on doing so," Dickson concluded.
