Fisia Italimpianti, a subsidiary of the Webuild Group and a global leader in water treatment and desalination plants, has won two contracts worth a combined value of €408 million ($439 million) for the construction and management of 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 project strengthens Webuild’s position in the water sector, where it aims to grow as part of its recently announced 2023-2025 roadmap.
The first contract – in the form of an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract – worth $327 million and 100 percent owned by Fisia Italimpianti – 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 and create approximately 1,500 direct and indirect jobs.
The second contract worth $112 million – in which Fisia Italimpianti owns a 20 percent 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.
Fisia Italimpianti has had a long presence in the Middle East, where it has built desalination and water treatment plants in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. Across the globe, its plants provide potable water for more than 20 million people.
