PROJECTS: Baker Hughes starts construction of oilfield services hub in Saudi Arabia

US-based energy technology company Baker Hughes announced on Monday the start of construction of its Oilfield Services (OFS) regional hub at King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

 

The company said in a statement that the 300,000 square metre regional hub will support its OFS operations and customers across the Middle East.

 

The OFS regional hub will be Baker Hughes’ second facility at SPARK after Novel Non-metallic Solutions, a 50/50 joint venture with Saudi Aramco, which broke ground in December 2020.

 

The OFS facility, which is the largest assembly, maintenance, and overhaul hub for Baker Hughes’ oilfield services business in the Eastern Hemisphere, would be home to more than 600 employees, of which 70 percent would be Saudi nationals, the statement said.

 

The facility plans to include 120 newly created jobs by the time it opens in late 2022, it added.

 

"Baker Hughes is committed to supporting Saudi Vision 2030 and Aramco’s iktva program. These programs drive localisation through job creation, supply chain development and export enablement, and further emphasise Saudi Arabia’s position as a global energy hub,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “Today’s milestone reflects our continued efforts to transform our core operations to ensure we deliver to Saudi Aramco and regional customers with speed, efficiency and operational excellence.”

 

The SPARK mega project spans an area of 50 square kilometres, and is being developed as a hub for oil and gas, refining, petrochemical, power and water production and treatment industries.

 

(Writing by D Madhura; Editing by Anoop Menon)