RIYADH, 4 December 2007 — Saudi Arabia has awarded an SR1.6 billion contract to Samsung Engineering Co., South Korea’s top plant maker, to build a refinery plant in Ras Tanura in order to produce more eco-friendly fuel. This is the first project of its kind to be awarded by the state-owned Saudi Aramco to the Korean giant Samsung Engineering, whose current job orders in the Kingdom alone exceeds SR14 billion cumulatively.

Speaking on the occasion, South Korean Ambassador Lee Jae-gil said here yesterday: “I am extremely happy to learn about this prestigious deal signed by Samsung Engineering, represented locally by Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd.”

“This also symbolizes the progressively growing business relation between Riyadh and Seoul, while it at the same time explains the technological superiority of the Korean companies in general,” he said.

“According to the contract, Samsung Engineering will build a diesel hydro-desulfurization (HDS) plant that can process 100,000 barrels of diesel on a daily basis in Ras Tanura, some 70 kilometers southeast of Al-Jubail City,” Shin-Youl Kang, vice president & resident director of Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd., told Arab News yesterday. Kang said “the plant order, the first one signed by Samsung with Saudi Aramco, would be completed by June 2010.”

He further said “the contract has a great symbolic value, since Saudi Aramco is a prestigious name in the world of business today.” The plant, he said, will reduce discharge of sulfur dioxide from diesel, to make it a more eco-friendly fuel.

“We are working on a broader vision with the sole motto to build best business relation with Saudi Aramco and all other major corporate business entities of the Kingdom,” he added.

Referring to the Samsung’s growing presence in Saudi Arabia, Samsung official said “we are also currently building the world’s largest ammonia plant for Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden).” Kang said that this ammonia plant with a capacity of 3,300 tons/day would be completed by December 2010.

“We have also won an SR1.12 billion contract from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) a few months back,” elaborated Kang, while referring to his job order portfolios.

He said that Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd has emerged as a major player in the construction sector of the Gulf region.

The company has also announced recently that it will build a high-profile “Safety Training Center” with a permanent office in Saudi Arabia.

This ambitious initiative to set up a safety training facility, which will help young Saudi engineers and technicians to learn about safety rules and practices, is primarily aimed to help Saudi government to cut its reliance on foreign workers.

Of late, Samsung Saudi Arabia, established in 1999 by Samsung Engineering, had emerged as one of the leading companies in petrochemical, oil and gas, refinery, industrial and environmental plants sector.

The company has in its hands some eight mega projects in the Kingdom alone, reflecting the strength of this Korean company in terms of high-end technology, human resources and quality control.

Some of these projects currently being executed include Tasnee Ethylene Project, APPC PDH/PP Project, Sharq EG Project, Ibn Zahr PP-3 Project, Ibn Zahr OCT Project and Kayan PP Project.

The company, which has world-class expertise in handling energy and environmental projects, has emerged as a major international player with substantial business interests in the Middle East countries. It has so far executed successfully 24 refinery projects and 133 environmental projects worldwide.