US, Saudi Arabia sign business deals worth billions

Agreements exhibit Riyadh’s willingness to develop sectors apart from oil

RIYADH: US and Saudi Arabian companies signed tens of billions of dollars of business deals on Saturday as Riyadh sought help to develop its economy beyond oil during a visit by President Donald Trump.

National oil firm Saudi Aramco said it signed $50 billion of agreements with US firms. Energy Minister Khalidal Falih said deals involving all companies totalled over $200 billion. Some deals had been announced previously, while others were Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) that would require further negotiations to materialise.

The major announcement included General Electric (GE), which said it signed $15 billion of business deals with Saudi Arabia, involving almost $7 billion of goods and services from GE itself. They ranged from the power and healthcare sectors to the oil and gas industry and mining. Among projects, GE will help make power generation more efficient, provide digital technology to the operations of oil firm Saudi Aramco, and cooperate in medical research and training.

Similarly, Exxon Mobil and Saudi Basic Industries agreed to conduct a study on a potential petrochemical project in San Patricio County, Texas. A final decision is expected sometime in 2018.

The project would include an ethane cracker with a production capacity of 1.8 million tons of ethylene per year to feed a monoethylene glycol unit.

Additionally, Raytheon will establish a Raytheon Arabia business unit and help to develop Saudi defence, aerospace and security capabilities. New joint venture between Saudi Aramco and National Oilwell Varco to make high-specification drilling rigs and equipment in the kingdom; it is to involve $6 billion of investment over 10 years.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2017.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.