Kent, a leading engineering company in the area of oil and gas, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and hydrogen (H2) technologies, entered an international joint venture (IJV) with the Saudi leading contractor Nesma & Partners to create a local Saudi company, Nesma Kent to support the execution of Saudi Aramco’s EPC projects within the industrial sector as part of the new National EPC Champion program announced by Aramco on 5th July 2022.
Kent, Nesma & Partners sources added that this IJV will space out a new local Saudi company, Nesma Kent, with the goal of building an autonomous engineering centre of excellence in the Kingdom within five years. Committed to transferring skills and knowledge to the local Saudi workforce, the new company will establish a tailored training program for Saudi Nationals as well as run out of Kingdom rotations for Saudi engineers to Kent’s global engineering centres to maximize and accelerate the knowledge transfer process.
Additionally, the Industry sources added that this partnership will also aid in the development of the latest capabilities in engineering, procurement, and construction services in the Kingdom relating to carbon capture, blue hydrogen, and blue ammonia technologies.
The IJV will see both companies working together and deploying technologies from inception to cover engineering, procurement, and construction. Deploying such technologies will minimize dependence on manual labor, enhance competitiveness, advance execution through schedule and cost improvements, and include visualization, data integration, asset management, digital twin, analytics & artificial intelligence, cyber resilience, and low carbon technologies.
Commenting on the IJV, Tush Doshi, Chief Operating Officer at Kent, stated, “Kent is delighted to collaborate with Nesma & Partners and is looking forward to offering its continued support and building on Kent’s long-term commitment to the Kingdom. We are excited about bringing our international skills and experience to deliver the technical aspects of the projects while also upskilling local nationals.”