On December 6, 2017, the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council (USSABC) hosted a seminar and panel discussion in collaboration with the U.S. Commercial Service at the POWER-GEN International Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada. More than 70 attendees participated in the program to learn about the many opportunities in the Saudi power sector and hear directly from industry experts and private sector executives on ongoing developments in the market. The panel featured H.E. Fahad Al Sukait, Advisor to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers; Eng. Khalid Al-Tuaimi, Executive Vice President for Generation, Saudi Electricity Company; Eng. Rayan Abdulqader Maddah, Local Services Development Division Manager, Saudi Electricity Company; Eng. Mohammed Alghaiheb, Renewable Energy Project Development Office, Ministry of Energy, Industry, & Mineral Resources; and Mr. Mohan Tahiliani, Vice President & Director of Business Development for the Middle East, Black & Veatch. The seminar was moderated by Mr. Gary Rand, Commercial Officer, U.S. Consulate General in Dhahran.
Welcoming attendees to the seminar, Michael Ryan, Strategic Markets Advisor, U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council (USSABC) noted that “the Business Council has participated in POWER-GEN for over 15 years, and each year we look forward to once again being able to take advantage of the opportunity to make contact with companies from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in this critically important industry.”
H.E. Al Sukait discussed the Kingdom’s future development plans and eagerness to partner with U.S. and other international firms for training and development of the local Saudi workforce. Presenting on the SEC’s current power infrastructure projects, Eng. Khalid Al-Tuaimi stated that the SEC currently operates more than 50 plants with total generation capacity exceeding 50 megawatts (MW). He noted that steam turbine plants are located in the Eastern and Western regions of the Kingdom, while the majority of power produced by combined cycle plants comes from the Central region. Overall, approximately half of generation capacity comes from gas turbines, explained Eng. Rayan Maddah, while steam turbines combine cycle turbines account for the remainder.
Offering perspective from the private sector, Mohan Tahiliani gave an overview of Black & Veatch’s design, engineering, procurement, and construction services and its past experience in several international markets. Black & Veatch has worked on projects in several industries which are growing rapidly in the Kingdom, such as oil and gas, power generation, and water.
POWER-GEN International brings together more than 1,400 companies and 22,000 attendees for one of the largest power trade shows in the world. Members of the Business Council may request the presentations of the panelists by emailing Jay Ennis, Director, Communications and Information Services, at jennis@us-sabc.org.
