Webuild subsidiary wins Saudi Arabia water treatment plant contracts worth $439 million

Fisia Italimpianti completed the Shuaibah III Expansion II desalination plant in Saudi Arabia in 2019 (Image: Fisia Italimpianti)

Fisia Italimpianti, a subsidiary of the Webuild Group, has won two contracts worth a combined €408 million ($439 million) to build a water treatment plant for the ZULUF onshore oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

The contracts mark Fisia Italimpianti’s entry into the oil and gas industry and its return to the operation and maintenance segment of the water sector.

The first deal is an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, worth $327 million, includes the construction of a plant for the ZULUF Central Processing Facilities that is required for the onshore structures.

The construction is part of the Arab Heavy (AH) Crude Oil Increment of the ZULUF field development programme by oil giant Aramco. Located in eastern Saudi Arabia approximately 6 kilometres west of the airport in Tanajib, it will be built for a consortium comprised of Almar Water Solutions and Aljomaih Energy and Water Co Ltd. on behalf of Aramco.

Fisia Italimpianti will build the plant that will treat, degas and filter water for iron and suspended solids at a maximum production capacity of 185,000 cubic metres per day. The plant will reinject the water in the oil wells to facilitate the production of Arab Heavy crude oil by maintaining pressure in the wells. The project is expected to take three years to complete.

The second contract worth $112 million - in which Fisia Italimpianti owns a 20% share in a joint-venture with Almar Water Solutions, Aljomaih Energy and Water Co Ltd and Aquatech International – involves the operation and maintenance of the completed plant for 25 years.