BHGE to Build State-of-the-art Oilfield Services Facility in King Salman Energy Park to Serve Saudi Aramco and the Region

Baker Hughes, a GE company (NYSE:BHGE) announced plans to build a state-of-the-art oilfield services (OFS) facility in King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), underlining its commitment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The new facility will support ongoing customer activities for three OFS product lines—drilling services, wireline services and pressure pumping - ensuring high-quality service delivery and positioning BHGE for future growth in the region. 

The SPARK facility will help to support projects and future growth with Saudi Aramco, and further contribute to the In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) program through partnerships with local suppliers and other businesses. Work has already begun on the first phase of the facility, which is expected to open at the end of 2019. The facility will reach full capacity by 2021/22 and is envisioned to be a large facility and distribution center with specialized training capabilities. 

Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, senior vice president of Upstream at Saudi Aramco, said: “Developing in-Kingdom competencies that will strengthen the pillars of Saudi Vision 2030 and support a robust oil and energy supply chain is a top priority for Saudi Aramco. We encourage investments in localized infrastructure that will support our operational processes and also contribute to in-Kingdom total value creation. BHGE’s new oilfield services facility is a significant step in this direction, which not only meets our operational needs but will also contribute to the larger Saudi economy through exports and job creation.”

Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of BHGE, said:“We have been partnering in the Kingdom to support oil and gas growth since 1938. This new facility will help build a new ecosystem for oilfield services within SPARK and support our commitments to invest in innovation, supply chain growth and training of new talent.” 

The new BHGE facility will be an operational and service support center, complementing the founding objective of SPARK to serve as a global hub for energy-related manufacturing services.  SPARK offers a comprehensive ecosystem with world-class infrastructure, logistics and a dry port, shared services, a commercial and residential area and highly specialized training centers.

With over 2,700 employees in the country, BHGE has more than 10 facilities for manufacturing, maintenance and R&D in the Kingdom. The company has over 1,350 Saudi suppliers in its supply chain and has helped create over 5,300 indirect jobs.

BHGE's footprint in the Kingdom includes an assembly, maintenance and overhaul workshop; a drill bits manufacturing facility that exports to over 40 countries; a completions and well intervention facility; a pressure control facility that is the largest and one of the most advanced by BHGE in the region with manufacturing done entirely in the Kingdom; the Dhahran Technology Center that has over 15 R&D projects and has filed over 30 patents; an artificial lift facility that partners with 120 local suppliers; a turbomachinery and process solutions facility; and one of the first and largest chemical blending plants in the Kingdom.