Essar Projects secures $54 million contract from Saudi Aramco

Mumbai: Essar Projects (India) Ltd, the unlisted engineering and construction arm of the Essar Group, on Tuesday said that it had secured a $54 million (around ₹ 328 crore) contract from Saudi Aramco, the national petroleum and natural gas company of Saudi Arabia.

“The project involves upgradation of a crude stabilization unit at Aramco’s Abqaiq plant, one of the largest oilfields in the world. The scope of work entails engineering, procurement and construction of a crude tank, replacement of crude pumps and associated civil, piping, electrical and instrumentation facilities,” the company said in a statement.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based firm is already executing five other projects in the region in the hydrocarbon sector. The Saudi Aramco project is scheduled to be completed in 29 months.

“This contract is a reflection of our capability to undertake global projects from reputed clients in this region,” said Amit Gupta, chief executive officer (CEO) of the hydrocarbon special business unit at Essar Projects. “We will leverage the capabilities gained to enhance our footprint in other Middle East countries.”

The hydrocarbon unit is one of the six special business units of the company. In 2011, Essar Projects split the company into six units—minerals and metals, hydrocarbons, power, concessions, infrastructure, and offshore subsea—that started working independently as stand-alone businesses.

Even India’s largest engineering and construction company Larsen and Toubro Ltd finds the Middle East a “promising” destination for the infrastructure and oil and gas sectors.”

“To tackle the challenges surrounding such opportunities, the company is building its international organization, which aims at replicating the domestic success story in the Middle East,” the company said in May.