New Saudi facility poised to help GE Oil & Gas expand in region

GE Oil & Gas chose the end of March to break ground on a new multimodal manufacturing and service facility at the MODON site in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

This 18,000-square-foot complex will help GE expand its existing work with technology-assisted oil and gas services in the region; and GE leaders, as well as local groups, are excited about the initiative. Now, crews are at work putting together the infrastructure for a place where researchers can work with artificial lift, digital and downstream technology solutions, and other types of innovation.

The new center joins an existing facility built last year and provides much more capacity for handling all of the work that goes into GE’s local energy work.

At the new facility, workers will assemble and maintain gas turbines and mechanical drives. They'll also look at operational metrics with digital solutions and different kinds of analysis strategies. 

Saudi Aramco Vice President of Procurement & Supply Chain Management Abdulaziz Al-Abdulkarim said that many local leaders view the new facility as a step toward gaining momentum with GE to help promote things such as economic growth and job creation.

To that end, the new center is expected to create 100 new jobs locally.

“(The new facility) is a manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia that serves Saudi and the region and beyond for exports,” GE Communications Leader Stephen McCallion told Gulf News Journal . “This facility is situated in the same MODON Dammam site where the groundbreaking took place. The additional facilities across the GE Oil & Gas, plus the existing PC manufacturing facility, together form the GE Oil & Gas Multi-Modal.”

McCallion said there are a number of features and designs that will facilitate better oil and gas handling for stakeholders in the region.

“It's all 'best in class',” McCallion said. “The best overall is that this becomes a real hub for GE Oil & Gas in one location, enabling us to be closer to customers and better serve the market.”

McCallion said that the new jobs created for this project will be sourced from the local area. He also cited the GE company’s work with vocal technical institutes such as TVTC Saudi, a training institute that has served the local community since 1980 and takes in 120,000 trainees in more than 100 locations.

At  the groundbreaking ceremony, GE Oil & Gas President and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli talked about the progress that the new MODON site will bring.

"With over 80 years of partnership in the (Saudi) kingdom, we are committed to strengthening our localized manufacturing, service and repair capabilities, and to build our already strong local talent pool.” Simonelli said. “The new center brings cross-functional synergies to our operations in the kingdom and will serve as a one-stop center for our customers in Saudi and the region. The integration of all our services … and our continued investments in the kingdom are aimed at supporting the economic goals of the government to promote growth and diversification based on job creation for Saudi nationals and localized manufacturing that enhances Saudi Arabia's international competitiveness."