Eissa Aqeeli
Senior Vice President and Location Director, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt
“Saudi Arabia is undergoing a huge transition – and there are big opportunities ahead.”
Eissa Aqeeli’s job is to lead and develop our project portfolio in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.
“A lot of the work I do is engaging with our key customers in Saudi Arabia and aligning our projects in a way that supports the future direction of the Kingdom,” he says. “While using our experience in conventional energy to advise, engineer, and deliver the projects needed to provide the energy, chemicals, and resources the world needs now.”
Diversifying Saudi Arabia’s energy sector
Eissa explains how Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions are setting the course for the future growth of the Kingdom.
“Saudi Arabia is currently working towards reducing its dependency on oil revenue and has strong sustainability ambitions. It aims for renewable projects to account for up to 50 percent of its energy mix by 2030.
“This is a great opportunity to diversify Saudi’s economy into emerging industries like liquids-to-chemicals (LTC), natural gas and liquified natural gas (LNG).
“The LTC process presents an opportunity to convert crude oil into high-value chemical products, instead of fossil fuels.
“These can then be used as feedstocks in the production of materials for sustainability projects such as solar panels and wind turbine blades,” he adds.
Utilizing natural gas as a transition fuel is another option for economic and energy diversification.
“Saudi Arabia is already a world leader in the supply of crude oil. But Vision 2030 has strong ambitions to transition into alternative energy sources to help diversify its economy.
“This is an opportunity for the Kingdom to expand its natural gas and LNG industries. Using gas as a transition fuel to meet current energy demands and enhance energy security. While allowing time for energy transition projects and infrastructure to develop,” says Eissa.
“We’re implementing sustainability standards in the design of natural gas and LNG projects as part of our own sustainability commitments. And we help our customers align their projects with the commitments of the Saudi Arabian government.”
Attracting and developing local talent
However, the diversification of Saudi’s economy is not the only priority. It’s important to develop the workforce, too.
“Saudi Arabia puts a lot of emphasis on the value its people bring to the economy. So, it’s important that we maximize our in-kingdom personnel to support our growing team. Right now, over 45 percent of our people in Saudi Arabia are nationals. Including me.
“We want that to continue. That’s why we’re working with the Ministry of Education and Universities across the Kingdom to inspire the next generation. Showcasing the opportunities available within our industry will help shape the future of Saudi Arabia.”
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