Aramco in drive to buy locally made equipment

Move aims to persuade foreign suppliers to help boost manufacturing

Saudi Arabia’s oil company on Tuesday unveiled plans to ramp up the amount of goods and services it buys locally, in a move aimed at persuading foreign suppliers to help boost the kingdom’s manufacturing.

Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco chief executive, said the company would spend $300 billion (Dh1.1 trillion) over the next decade on goods and services used in the production of oil and gas, with the majority of these funds aimed at locally made equipment.

The state-owned company hopes to encourage suppliers — from foreign groups including Schlumberger and Siemens, to local companies — to manufacture more equipment in Saudi Arabia.

Nasser said a commitment to use more local workers and resources would be “required” for all companies working with Saudi Aramco, which pumps almost one in every nine barrels of oil globally.

“For too long, local content has not been a formal requirement of doing business with Saudi Aramco,” he added. Saudi Aramco is seeking to use its spending power to boost the pool of skilled workers in Saudi Arabia’s energy sector and related industries.

Nasser, who was appointed Saudi Aramco chief executive earlier this year, said Saudi Arabia seeks to emulate other oil producers such as Norway, by developing effective domestic suppliers.