July-2013-Arabian Oil & Gas - AES Arabia Ltd

Upstream Partners
Water
Champions
AES Arabia has been pioneering high-end water
treatment for the major oil and gas players in Saudi
Arabia and the wider Middle East. We meet CEO Fawaz
Malki and find that upstream and downstream firms
have become customers of choice
AES Arabia has been working in the water and wastewater
treatment industry since 1985, developing
wide-ranging expertise across a number of sectors
such as power generation and refining. The firm’s
CEO, Fawaz Malki, says that AES pushed into the oil and gas
business following rising numbers of competitors in other
areas.
“In the late nineties, as a result of the mounting competition
in [other sectors], and a trend of decline in quality, we
were compelled to take our high standard to new frontiers.
The oil & gas and petrochemical industries presented a challenge
– in terms of high standards and quality that only companies
like AES can meet, and are well equipped to enter.
Since then, we embarked on a journey which has led us to
become one of the leading O&G water and wastewater treatment
providers; serving some of the largest regional and
international energy giants successfully,” he explains.
Since establishing itself in the sector, AES has worked
with a raft of the major oil and gas companies around the
world – including Saudi Aramco, ADNOC, Petronas, Shell
and Total. In addition, the firm has been kept busy working
with international EPC firms such as Technip, Bechtel and
Samsung.
“The major share of the projects we executed is from
downstream – mainly because of the high standard processes,
such as process water requirements, wastewater and
oily water requirements. The upstream share is also considerable
for the enhanced recovery application,” Malki says.
AES Arabia CEO Fawaz Malki.
www.arabianoilandgas.com
November 2012 Oil&Gas Middle East 143

Upstream Partners
Fawaz Malki, AES Arabia’s chief executive said that a flight from quality in non-energy sectors encouraged the firm to pitch for upstream oil and gas work.
AES says that standards
in the industry are becoming
ever more sophisticated, as
water resource issues become
increasingly challenging and
require advanced technologies
to ensure efficient processes.
“That’s why AES provides
total water management for all
waters used by, generated by, or
emanating from, the petroleum
and petrochemical industries.
No matter what the application
or global location, we have the
experience and expertise to
resolve water issues. The group
catering to oil and gas and petrochemicals
comprises some 300
dedicated professionals in the
design and execution office,”
he says.
The advantages, Malki
believes, of firms’ focusing
more on their water processes
are improved efficiency gains
and water sustainability.
“The energy sector in general
and the petroleum industry
in particular, is one of the largest
users of water in the manufacturing
process. The complete
process depends on water. In the
Middle East, water resources
are considered to be scarce and
expensive. Alternative water
sources – such as wastewater
and produced water – can provide
an economical, ecologically
friendly option towards water
sustainability.
“In addition to that, the ever
evolving and maturing environmental
discharge standards and
regulations have driven the use
of technologies and solutions to
keep producers competitive,”
he adds.
One challenge still facing the
industry that Malki identifies is
a rising trend for EPC companies
to more forcefully pursue
the region’s largest projects.
“EPC companies are becoming
increasingly aggressive in
grabbing the mega energy projects
in the region. Among them
are several competitive Asian
companies whose lower prices
are putting an increasing pressure
on the fair value of the technology
packages suppliers like
AES are offering. However, we
consider this to be a temporary
phase and are accordingly putting
up a strategy to cope with
it,” he states.
In terms of future plans,
Malki says that there is a “very
ambitious plan” that AES is currently
implementing, with particular
growth of note in the
business’ North African activity.
In addition, the firm is looking
to expand its product range,
and is also moving into the
Iraqi market.
“We started offering our services
to Iraq even at the time
when security was a real concern.
We completed a contract
for DIFID (UN) to design, manufacture
and install a 24,000
cubic metres/day desalination
plant for Zubair Petrochemicals.
We successfully commissioned
and installed the plant remotely
from Kuwait for security reasons.
We are very well prepared
to go into the Iraq market
aggressively once again, knowing
the potential in the energy
sector. In fact, we have started
pursuing some specific opportunities
with a few of the world’s
top EPC contractors,” Malki
concludes.
AES Arabia is one of the best prepared firms in Iraq to work with O&G needs.
144 Oil&Gas Middle East November 2012 www.arabianoilandgas.com