Jacobs Engineering Group has announced recently that its local subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, Jacobs ZATE, has been awarded a general engineering services (GES) contract by the Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) for its $15 billion facility. Officials estimate the potential value of the one-year contract at $1.5 million. Petro Rabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical, is the largest integrated oil refinery and petrochemical production facility ever built at one time. It is located in the Red Sea port of Rabigh, around 165 km north of Jeddah on the west coast of Saudi Arabia. The petrochemical complex can produce 18.4 million tons per year (mpta) of petroleum-based products and 2.4 mpta of ethylene and propylene-based derivatives. Jacobs ZATE will provide mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical engineering for refinery and petrochemical, drafting-related services, management-related services, and any other engineering services required by the facility. “Jacobs has had a presence in the Middle East for many years, serving the oil and gas, infrastructure, and buildings sectors. This contract renews our commitment in the Middle East and to provide world-class services to our clients in the region,” said Jacobs President and Chief Executive Officer Craig Martin. In March 2008, Jacobs acquired a 60 percent stake in the Saudi Arabian firm of Zamel & Turbag Consulting Engineers (ZATE), now known as Jacobs ZATE. The combination of ZATE with Jacobs' existing operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia resulted in a staff of more than 500 in the Middle East. Higher crude prices are raising gasoline prices as well, which could help snuff out any nascent recovery in demand.
