Providing Bespoke in-Kingdom Solutions for the Changing Demands of the Saudi Market
14th July 2021
A blog by Mishal Alsaleh, Project Engineer – Alderley, Dammam
Alderley’s fully integrated design, engineering and manufacturing operations in Saudi Arabia are based at the heart of the country’s energy sector, Dammam, which is the sixth most populous city in the Kingdom.
Alderley’s first manufacturing facility was established in Dammam in 2006 to support companies like global leader Saudi Aramco with local tailor-made solutions designed and delivered by on-the-ground teams.
Now, the company has around 50 specialists over two sites who work to provide integrated solutions and aftermarket services for the country’s burgeoning and rapidly changing energy sector.
In this piece, we look at Alderley’s work in the Kingdom, its solutions offering, and show that by adapting to the demands of a changing market, the company has been able to become a successful partner to the country’s energy sector for many decades.
Overview of Alderley Saudi Arabia
Today, Alderley’s work in Saudi Arabia is focused on designing and producing bespoke solutions in-Kingdom for a changing energy sector. No two solutions are ever the same. Though Saudi Aramco remains a major partner for the company, with its wide offering of solutions, opportunities abound as the country’s energy sector expands further.
Key solutions include metering, produced water treatment, control solutions, chemical injections, truck loading and unloading as well as training.
Modular wellsite skids, a fully tested and ready-to-operate production module to control the flow of oil and gas as well as other potential energy sources, are a key USP of Alderley in Saudi Arabia and were introduced to the market back in 2017. Since then, Alderley has manufactured and delivered 26 modular wellsite skids to clients in the Kingdom.
Long-term Partnership in a Changing Landscape
These solutions have been developed to fit with the changing demands of the Saudi energy sector, which in recent years has sought continuous improvements to the way in which it produces energy.
Not only is the energy sector in the country becoming more efficient through new technology and innovation such as wellsite skids but non-oil revenues in the green economy have been identified by the Government as a growth driver.
As evidence of this, plans are underway in the Kingdom to build NEOM – a ‘smart city’ in Tabuk that will be powered entirely by renewable energy. This ground-breaking project will enable companies in the supply chain to develop new clean tech solutions.
Underpinning NEOM, and indeed, Alderley’s work in the Kingdom, is ‘Saudi Vision 2030’, a bold strategic framework launched five years ago that aims to create new opportunities across the country to diversify its economy and reinforce investment activities.
‘Vision 2030’ has given new support and impetus to private companies operating in the Saudi market highlighting the need for them to play a prominent role in the economy as its rapidly expands.
For Alderley, the opportunities provided by a growing economy and a strong ‘Vision 2030’ framework have seen the company make significant new investments that have focused on increasing local capacity and capability in Dammam and providing new training opportunities for the locally based workforce.
Further, there are plans to grow the company’s workforce in Dammam and offer some of the best career opportunities in the region in engineering as demand for advanced technologies grows and as our capability to deliver cutting edge solutions in digital and cyber security – key areas of focus in-Kingdom – is enhanced.
Key Ingredients for Success – the Way we Communicate
Anticipating clients’ needs is a key goal. Alderley has been able to do this by communicating freely with clients on a day-to-day, 1:1 basis, and often, by avoiding overly formal communications to understand their business’ needs. We continually communicate to our clients that we want to add value to what they do through our solutions.
Our long-standing 15 year+ market presence, and 30-year experience of providing solutions to the Kingdom’s energy sector means that we intuitively understand the local situation on the ground. For example, Alderley is a keen supporter of Saudi Aramco’s IKTVA (In-Kingdom Total Value Add) programme that encourages increased localisation in terms of jobs, skills and investment.
Localisation is an important issue for Alderley across the Gulf region and one in which the company has made great strides to address particularly by hiring local engineers who understand clients’ needs. This will remain a key area of focus for Alderley in the Kingdom as it contributes further to shaping the global energy sector.
As Mishal Alsaleh, a Project Engineer at Alderley in the Kingdom put it:
“Being part of a team with diverse experiences and cultures inspires us to be more creative and look for new ways to perform our work more efficiently. On a personal level, I enjoy executing projects through innovation and calculated risk taking to satisfy our clients and to take the industry to the next level. With our up-to-date technology and agile mindset, we can definitely adapt to the changing environment by offering proper solutions to evolving industry demand.”
We look forward to bringing you further news and insights from our team in the Kingdom in future so please watch this space!
