RIYADH, 23 July — Saudi Arabia said yesterday that foreign oil majors will submit their final offers for participation in three mega gas projects "within days", squashing reports that talks between the two sides had broken down. "The companies will submit within the next days their final offers" on the multibillion-dollar projects, said Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi ministerial committee overseeing the projects.
"An appropriate decision serving the interests of the Kingdom will be taken on the basis of the offers," Prince Saud said in a statement. But he added that Saudi Arabia was determined to go ahead with the projects "under all circumstances."
"The Kingdom has made considerable progress in studying the projects included in the Gas Initiative in the fields of electricity, water desalination, petrochemicals plants, and gas exploration and excavation, and has taken whatever steps necessary to implement the projects under all circumstances. "The projects will be implemented in accordance with a timetable, and through methods to strengthen the national economy," he vowed.
Based on instructions from the Kingdom’s leaders, "a number of meetings were held with the international oil companies with the aim to bridge the gap between the two sides on certain issues which they had differences over," the statement said.
Several rounds of talks between the two sides have been held, culminating in a meeting last week between the ministerial committee and the CEOs of ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, Lee Raymond and Phil Watts.
The Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) reported in its Monday edition that the talks had broken down in deadlock, "leaving the future of the project in its current shape in doubt."
Consequently, the whole scheme might be "restructured," the Cyprus-based specialist newsletter said. Profitability, risks involved in the investments expected to last 25-30 years, and details about the "rate of return" from power plants, water desalination and petrochemicals were at the core of the tough negotiations.
Informed sources told Arab News that a number of new companies had come up with offers to invest in the Kingdom’s gas projects. They said a Taiwanese oil company had officially expressed its desire to join the gas projects to be implemented by Saudi Aramco in cooperation with international oil companies.
