EEI unit bags $200-million Saudi Aramco deal

MANILA, Philippines - Al Rushaid Construction Co. Ltd. (ARCC), a foreign joint venture of EEI Corp., said it has bagged a $200-million subcontract to provide construction services for Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Co.’s clean fuels project at Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah in Saudi Arabia.

The project encompasses significant modifications to SAMREF’s refinery to comply with future mandatory sulfur levels of 10 parts per million in gasoline and diesel. The phased construction project is expected to start up in 2013.

WorleyParsons’ scope of work includes front-end engineering design and full responsibility for engineering, design and procurement and construction of the facilities.

“We are delighted that WorleyParsons and SAMREF have chosen ARCC for this major undertaking. This project affirms our place as one of the world’s premier companies serving the hydrocarbons construction industry and represents our first direct link with WorleyParsons, ” said EEI chief executive officer Roberto Castillo.

SAMREF is an equally-owned joint venture between Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and Mobil Yanbu Refining Co. The SAMREF refinery complex was formed for the development, construction, ownership and operation of crude oil refining facilities in Yanbu Saudi Arabia     

EEI Corp. reported an eight-percent rise in its net income to P452.89 million in the nine months ending September this year on robust domestic operations.

For the first three quarters of the year, revenues from local construction contracts, merchandise sales and real estate sales expanded by 27 percent, 19 percent and 162 percent, respectively compared with the same period last year.

Local construction contracts grew 21.3 percent to P3.7 billion while merchandise sales rose from P171.56 million to P204.70 million. The company’s real estate business, meanwhile, more than doubled to P119.75 million from P45.77 million.

Revenue from services, however, plunged 43 percent from P1.56 billion to P897.37 million as well as revenue from the company’s overseas operations which decreased by 68 percent to P146.25 million in 2010. Interest income likewise fell 13 percent to P46.73 million.

Under a joint venture project with Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd., EEI is currently undertaking the P2.84-billion construction of Berth 6 of the Manila International Container Terminal for global port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. EEI holds a 30 percent stake in the joint venture.

As of end-September this year, EEIs total domestic backlog amounted P7.67 billion, including the backlog of subsidiaries worth P381.17 million.

 The orders backlog of EEI’s overseas joint venture company, ARCC as of the same period last year amounted to P11.20 billion.