Saudi Aramco has signed a deal with Australia’s WorleyParsons that will see the company enter its general engineering services plus (GES plus) scheme.

The local partners for WorleyParsons will be Abdulaziz Kamel & Partners Company and Alrabiah Consulting & Engineering Services. The length of the deal is five years with the option of an additional three years.   

MEED reported in early November that Aramco was on the verge of replacing the US’ Foster Wheeler with WorleyParsons on the programme.

“WorleyParsons has worked very hard for more than a year to secure this deal and to turn it around is quite a coup for them,” says an oil and gas source familiar with the GES plus programme. “Whether Foster Wheeler can convince Aramco that it is a viable option to become a sixth GES plus member remains to be seen.”  

Every signatory of the GES plus scheme has to form partnerships with local engineering companies to ensure Saudi nationals are gaining the requisite experience. They will then be used as preferred bidders to provide Aramco with design, engineering and project management services across the whole spectrum of the hydrocarbons sector.