Having been in the market since 1985, Saudi Arabias AES Arabia is one of the regions most experienced water and wastewater solutions providers
The company, which started life in the US and has headquarters in Riyadh, continues to build upon it's near 30-year experience and is looking to further increase its activity in the region.
AES also has branch offices in Al Khobar and Jeddah and has a team of 300 professionals in the company's design and execution office devoted solely to the oil and gas and petrochemicals sectors.
Last year AES was approved by Saudi Aramco as an ASME pressure vessel manufacturer.
"Gaining approval is tough, and approvals for the design and manufacture of pressure vessels are rare, so it is a boon for us," said AES business development manager, Asad Iqbal Khan. "Saudi Aramco approval underlines the high standards of quality control we maintain, and is of great consequence for us because nearly all of the projects we carry out have a requirement for ASME pressure vessels."
Khan emphasised that AES has not just enjoyed continued growth within Saudi Arabia, such as winning the contract to design and construct a seawater reverse osmosis plant at the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology Research Park under Saudi Aramco's management, but also in other parts of the region, including Iraq and Algeria. He added that other short-lived competitors in the water and wastewater treatment market create some market instability but AES are able to weather any such fluctuations due to its established reputation and vast experience.
“We were enjoying a semi niche market status working in oil and gas sectors however there are companies getting entry and exit every year and trying to destabilise the market,” said Khan. “It doesn’t threaten us, but of course there is a temporary challenge because of the competitor’s unawareness of the compliances and specifications."
Added pressure comes in the form of the increasing need to conserve, utilise and reuse as much water as possible.
"The scarcity of water has pushed the envelope for water engineering to the limits," said Khan. "In countries as dry as Saudi Arabia, this poses the maximum challenge for engineers to keep coming up with innovative and effective solutions."
But with almost three decades of experience, AES is ideally placed to meet these challenges and to continue investing in R&D and developing innovative and groundbreaking water and wastewater solutions.
“That’s why AES provides total water management for all waters used by, generated by, or emanating from, the petroleum and petrochemical industries," explained Khan. "No matter what the application or global location, we have the experience and expertise to resolve water issues."
This article originally featured in Oil Review Middle East Issue Six 2013. To read the rest of this issue of the magazine, click here
