Saudi Aramco announced Thursday that it has signed a shareholder agreement with National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV) to form a joint venture partnership to establish an integrated world-class on-shore rig and equipment manufacturing and aftermarket facility in Ras al-Khair, east Saudi Arabia. Under the virtue of the agreement, Saudi Aramco will own 30 percent of the joint venture’s shares while NOV will own the remaining 70 percent. The new joint venture with NOV will be located in Ras al-Khair, near the Jubail Industrial City on the Kingdom’s east coast, and it will serve as a major hub for high specification drilling rigs, using cutting-edge technologies with a capacity to manufacture 10 onshore rigs per year. The facility will also offer repair services and recertification of a large portfolio of equipment. It will have the ability to supply drilling packages for offshore Jack-up rigs, and it will localize expertise in multiple disciplines related to on-shore rig manufacturing. The project is expected to create over one thousand direct and indirect jobs in the Kingdom, and the commissioning of the facility is expected by 2020 with the first rig to be delivered in 2021. “The Kingdom leadership’s efforts to accelerate economic diversification as part of Vision 2030 is having a significant impact in enabling the creation of new sub-sectors and also in attracting investments from our international partners to our nation’s vital oil and gas industry,” said Saudi Aramco’s President and CEO Amin Nasser in a statement. “Saudi Aramco’s agreement with NOV is a step in that direction towards the creation of a vibrant energy services sector, which helps us to further advance our In-Kingdom Total Value Add program and expand the procurement of locally manufactured goods and services,” Nasser noted. He explained that this comes alongside the development of Giga Projects such as the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services. Executive Director of New Business Development at Saudi Aramco and Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Aramco Development Company Ziad al-Murshed, for his part, said that the new manufacturing facility “will further strengthen the integrated portfolio of oilfield services and equipment being developed by the Saudi Aramco Development Company, which also optimizes Saudi Aramco’s supply chain costs and improves its agility.” “This investment will also create employment and training opportunities for Saudi youth,” Murshed stressed.