Schlumberger to become anchor tenant in Aramco energy park

Schlumberger will set up a manufacturing centre in Saudi Arabia, becoming an anchor tenant in a Saudi Aramco park as the kingdom seeks to boost its domestic energy industry to create jobs.

The world’s largest oil services firm will become a key anchor tenant along with American peer firm Baker Hughes in the planned 500,000 square metre King Salman Energy Park. The first phase of the park, which is part of Aramco’s localisation drive In-Kingdom Total Value Add (Iktva), is set for completion in the second quarter of 2018.

“The new industrial manufacturing center will collocate our upstream and midstream manufacturing in the kingdom and complements the footprint Schlumberger has built over many years,” said Paal Kibsgaard, chairman of Schlumberger.

Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, is seeking to attract more oil services companies to set up centres in the kingdom as part of Vision 2030 efforts to localise services and create jobs for Saudis.

The oil producer launched its Iktva programme in December 2015 with an aim to double the percentage of locally-produced energy-related goods and services to 70 per cent by 2021 and export 30 per cent of the total domestic energy goods and services produced in the kingdom over the same time frame.

Schlumberger was also awarded two lump-sum contracts for upstream services whose value was undisclosed.

Schlumberger’s integrated drilling services subsidiary is set to supply up to 146 gas wells and 128 oil wells over the course of three years.

Last week, Aramco signed a US$175 million contract with Baker Hughes to ramp up production from its eastern gasfields of Haradh and Hawiya.

Another agreement was signed with Canadian engineering services company SNC Lavalin to accelerate localisation.