Aker Solutions to Provide Pre-FEED Services to Dammam 7 Complex in Jubail

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Aker Solutions ASA (OSL:AKSO) (Lysaker, Norway) recently entered into a program management agreement with Dammam 7 Petrochemicals Limited to provide pre-front end engineering and design (FEED) services for the acrylic acid and acrylates complex planned for the Jubail Industrial City 2 in Saudi Arabia. Dammam 7 is owned by Saudi shareholders, led by the Kanoo Group (Dammam, Saudi Arabia).

The complex will be the first of four petrochemical complexes that Dammam 7 intends to build in the recently established Jubail 2 industrial area. It is designed to contain an acrylic acid plant and production units for acrylic esters, synthetic gas (syngas), and butanol. The complex also will include various integrated utilities and offsite facilities.

The complex is estimated to cost about $400 million and will have the capacity to produce about 200,000 tons per year of acrylic acid, 200,000 tons per year of acrylates, and 100,000 tons per year of butanol. In July this year, Dammam 7 acquired propylene feedstock for the complex from a local supplier.

Construction of the Jubail 2 industrial area, or Jubail Industrial City 2 as it is formally known, began in 2005. The site covers an area of more than 20 square kilometers, and is reported to cost $3.8 billion. It will accommodate up to 22 new primary industries, as well as new desalination plants. The project also entails expansion of the King Fahd Industrial Port.

Aker is keen to expand its presence in the Middle East, and has offices in Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in addition to Saudi Arabia, where the company signed a partnership agreement with the Arabian Consulting Engineering Center (ACEC) (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) in February this year. Under the agreement, Aker provides managerial and technical support to ACEC's engineering services business.

Along with the rest of the world, Saudi Arabia was impacted by the global financial crisis, despite having large oil and gas reserves. Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SAU:2010) (SABIC) (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) recorded a loss of almost $250 million during the first quarter of 2009, reversing the trend of growing profits in recent years.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world's leading petrochemical exporters, accounting for almost 7% of the global supply and 9% of Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product (GDP) last year.

Aker Solutions is a world leader in project management, design and construction, and has worked on projects in the metals, mining, nuclear clean-up and refining sectors, as well as in petrochemicals and liquefied natural gas projects. The company provides a range of services that covers the entire life cycle of projects, from design, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations, and maintenance to eventual decommissioning.

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