Aydh laid the groundwork for his talk by noting the impending growth in demand for Saudi crude oil and natural gas. Not only is global demand growing, he said, but domestic demand also is increasing as the Saudi population increases and economic expansion continues. These trends, he said, point to opportunities for growth of local businesses in engineering, manufacturing and construction, as the company pursues crude oil increments of 2.95 million barrels per day, an amount larger than most oil-producing countries' total production. Sales gas production, meanwhile, will increase from under 6 billion standard cubic feet per day (scfd) currently to over 7 billion scfd in 2011. Al-Aydh added that ethane and NGL production will make huge jumps between 2007 and 2008; ethane will increase from about 650 million scfd to 900 million scfd, and NGL will jump from about 850,000 bpd to 1 million bpd. But beyond upstream expansion, Al-Aydh said that Saudi Aramco recognizes the benefits of downstream integration of refining and petrochemicals. As an example, he pointed to the PETRORabigh joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical of Japan, which will produce 2.4 million tons per year of polyolefins, and include 30 downstream sites. Similarly, the Ras Tanura Integrated Petrochemicals project, currently being discussed with Dow, is anticipated to produce 300 products from steam crackers, a high-olefins FCC aromatics complex, a chlor-alkali plant and 30 derivative units. These value-added investments, Al-Aydh said, are an investment in Saudi Arabia's future prosperity. Rather than building only hydrocarbon infrastructure, as was done during the relatively high oil prices of the late 1970s, Al-Aydh pointed out that investment today focuses on expanding the local economy by maximizing local content, increasing domestic capabilities, and creating a business environment conducive to long-term prosperity. Essentially, he said, Saudi Aramco is looking to create "a sustainable ring of prosperity," in which Saudi Aramco benefits from locally-based engineering, manufacturing and construction firms; the firms in turn benefit from steady local and regional business opportunities; and the Kingdom benefits by leveraging its young population to be its competitive advantage. After Al-Aydh's presentation, PMI-AGC president Tofiq H. Al-Gabsani - who is also Saudi Aramco director of International Joint Venture Coordination - delivered a brief address welcoming the attendees and providing an overview of the PMI-AGC's recent accomplishments. Since 2004, he said, membership in the chapter has increased 170 percent, and Project Management Professional certification has increased almost 250 percent. This growth in the chapter mirrors growth of projects in the region. "Project analysis conducted in 2006 indicated that the value of active and forecasted projects in the Gulf Region up to 2011 exceeds $1.4 trillion dollars," Al-Gabsani said. "There are more than 1,000 mega projects in the region covering various sectors in oil and gas, petrochemicals, infrastructure, power generation and other industries." Al-Gabsani concluded his remarks by thanking the many sponsors of the event, as well as Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the Prime Minister of Kingdom of Bahrain, for hosting the event. He also thanked Fahmi Bin Ali Al-Jowder for his support not only for this event, but also for his continuous support for the PMI-AGC in general. Over the next two days of the PMI-AGC event, Feb. 14 and 15, Saudi Aramco speakers will deliver eight presentations on a variety of topics relevant to the mega-projects theme.
