RIYADH, 28 April — Hanz Shielan, president of Chevron Arabia, has assured Saudi businessmen of high returns on direct and indirect investments in projects related to the country’s gas initiative. It will also help develop the economic infrastructure in the Kingdom, he said.
The gas initiative with the influx of foreign investments will generate a large number of employment opportunities for Saudi youths, he added.
Though Chevron, the No. 2 oil company in the United States, has its own investment potential, it used to tap local resources in most of its projects and investments as in the case of Chevron Saudi Petrochemicals in Jubail, Shielan said.
He said preliminary estimates projected the core venture one, the South Ghawar project, would attract $14 billion (SR50 billion) in direct investment. The project is also estimated to attract indirect investments ranging between $7 to $10 for each dollar invested directly, according to various projections. This means the total indirect investments will cross $140 billion (SR525 billion).
Chevron is interested in the project because of the strong presence of the company in the Eastern Province with huge investments in the petrochemical sector, the official said.
Speaking on employment and training opportunities for Saudi youths, Shielan said: “The real success of the project lies in creating employment opportunities with the help of various schemes in national and international companies which will win sub-contracts to implement various support projects.”
Chevron’s history in the Kingdom is marked with outstanding achievements in the area of training and employment of Saudi graduates, he said. The company has offered several training programs for the students of King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals, he pointed out.
The company provided technology and training for Saudi Aramco projects. It backs a Saudi fund for maintaining ecological balance in the region. Shielan said his company is well-prepared to start the project as soon as negotiations are completed.
The world’s top energy firms have been angling for a stake in three so-called “core ventures” on offer under the Saudi gas initiative — the Kingdom’s biggest energy opening since nationalization in 1975.
The results will be revealed in the next few weeks when the ministerial committee is due to present its choices to the Supreme Council for Petroleum and Mineral Affairs, the ultimate decision maker. Companies would then sign memoranda of understanding, the biggest step forward since Riyadh unveiled its energy investment opening to oil majors more than two years ago.
The following companies have been short-listed for the gas projects, designed to help develop existing gas reserves and encourage investment in downstream projects fed by gas supplies, such as power and desalination: Core Venture 1 (South Ghawar): ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, BP, Chevron, TotalFinaElf and ENI.
Core Venture 2 (Red Sea): Enron/Oxy, ExxonMobil, TotalFinaElf, Marathon, Royal Dutch/Shell and Conoco.
Core Venture 3 (Shaybah): Conoco, TotalFinaElf, Phillips, Enron/Oxy, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch/Shell and Marathon.
