The massive 3,500 ton offshore platform is a milestone for Saudi Aramco's strategy to develop its offshore oil resources and for the IKTVA program.
Saudi Aramco’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add Program (IKTVA) continues to go from strength to strength with the announcement of the completion of the largest offshore tie-in platform ever constructed in Saudi Arabia.
The completion of the fabrication of the huge Marham TP-9 Deck is part of the Saudi Aramco’s Offshore Maintain Potential Program. This covers the fabrication and installation of four oil producing platforms and associated pipelines and power cables. The project was completed in collaboration with the company’s Offshore Projects Department (OPD).
A ceremony to mark the milestone event in Saudi Aramco’s IKTVA program saw the company’s senior vice president of Technical Services, Ahmed A. Al-Saadi, praise the capabilities of in-Kingdom manufacturers.
“The completion of the massive 3,500 tons structure represents a major milestone for Saudi Aramco’s strategy to develop its offshore oil resources and to sustain the in-Kingdom manufacturing capabilities. This is the biggest offshore structure to have been fabricated to date in Saudi Arabia, and a major proof of the high level of technical competency and capability that in-Kingdom manufacturers have achieved,” Al-Saadi said.
The platform was fabricated at Dammam Port by the STAR yard (Saipem Taqa Al-Rushaid Fabricators Company Limited) and is the product of a joint venture between Saudi Enterprises and Saipem, one of the most important international offshore contractors in the world. Established in 2007 with the direct support of Saudi Aramco, the yard fabricates offshore structures and accessories at King Abdul Aziz Port of Dammam.
The major initiative of fabricating platforms for the offshore oil and gas fields was the first of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and has recently been expanded with the opening of the newly established fabrication yard of McDermott International, another long-term offshore contractor of Saudi Aramco.
The completion of the fabrication scope underlines the commitment of Saudi Aramco to the development of the vast offshore hydrocarbon resources of the Kingdom.
As part of the event, members of Saudi Aramco
management toured the Star Welding School,
a facility with 100% Saudi management.
Founded in 2008, the school has trained around
1,000 Saudi welders and pipefitters and delivers
all theoretical and practical training activities on-site.
Al-Saadi added: “In my view there is an even greater significance to the work that’s been done here. At Saudi Aramco, our new mandate is Saudi Vision 2030, which calls for an accelerated and broad diversification of the economy, driven by entrepreneurship, technological innovation, and targeted investment.
“Our IKTVA localization program is a fine example of how we are putting this into practice. By establishing strategic partnerships with local manufacturers, and successfully executing projects in our vast offshore fields within extremely aggressive schedules, we are showing the world that our manufacturers are highly competent and customer focused. In fact, I believe that this can be expanded and extended nationally across many industrial sectors to create thousands of new, well paid, and highly skilled jobs for our young men and women.”
The completion demonstrates the importance of establishing strategic partnerships with in-Kingdom manufacturers for the successful execution of complex and extensive projects, which are to be completed in the vast fields operated by Saudi Aramco in the Arabian Gulf.