Schlumberger to build manufacturing center at Aramco Energy Park

US-based drilling and oil service firm Schlumberger will develop an industrial manufacturing center within Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Energy Park, which is operated by Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom’s national oil firm said in a statement on Saturday.

The announcement came during a ground-breaking ceremony at the Energy Park, where Schlumberger will be a key anchor tenant, the statement said.

The industrial manufacturing center will be developed over 500,000 square meters on land allocated for energy-related industries, Aramco said. The first phase is planned to be completed in Q2 2018, bringing Schlumberger land rig manufacturing to Saudi Arabia.

The center will manufacture products for drilling, exploration and production, as well as for midstream, the statement said.

“Schlumberger is the ‘first mover’ to come onto the King Salman Energy Park,” Mohammed Al-Qahtani, senior vice-president (upstream) at Aramco, said in the statement.

“Schlumberger is bringing major manufacturing capacity to the Kingdom, with the potential to develop export markets. This presence will attract additional tenants to the Park, bringing the jobs and investment that are crucial to both Saudi Aramco’s IKTVA (In-Kingdom Total Value Add) development program, and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” he added.

Earlier, Aramco had awarded Schlumberger two lump sum contracts for drilling rigs and services for oil and gas wells, during the IKTVA Forum in Khobar.

The deals requires Schlumberger to provide drilling rigs and services for up to 146 gas wells and up to 128 oil wells over three years, Aramco said in a separate statement.