A senior government official has called upon Saudi and foreign companies to forge economic alliances in order to carry out new oil projects worth SR487.5 billion ($130 billion).
Abdul Rahman Abdul Kareem, Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Affairs for company affairs, made the call while addressing the oil and gas session of the Saudi Mega Projects 2005 here.
Salim Al-Aydh, senior vice president for engineering and operations services at Saudi Aramco, backed the minister and said the new oil projects demanded powerful companies.
He pointed out that 81 percent of Aramco contractors are small companies each with a capital of less than $5 million. He emphasized the need to establish giant Saudi companies that can take up mega projects at regional and international levels, according to a report published today by Arab News.
