The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) announced the signing of one agreement and nine Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with leading Korean entities. Aramco signed an agreement with Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Company and Dussur. This partnership aims to establish a casting and forging facility that could supply the Kingdom’s manufacturers with industrial and process equipment such as valves, pumps, compressors, wellheads, flanges, heat exchangers, and gas and wind turbines, with the objective to enhance local content. The planned joint venture has a production target of 60,000 tons per year. It also has the potential to supply original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the rig, drilling, maritime and engine fields, with the possibility of expanding to the wider GCC market.
The agreements also include MoUs with Korean energy companies KEPCO, S-Oil, POSCO, Hyundai Oilbank, H2Korea and LOTTE Fine Chemical to explore potential collaboration in the supply, transportation, utilization and certification of hydrogen and ammonia. The companies also plan to study the feasibility of converting exported ammonia into hydrogen – a process known as ammonia back-cracking. This represents a first step towards a potential large-scale production facility for hydrogen and ammonia in Saudi Arabia.