Saudi Arabia's TAQA buys 25% stake in oilfield chemicals firm OPT

Saudi Arabia’s Industrialization and Energy Services Company (TAQA) announced that it has agreed to acquire a 25 percent stake in OPT Petroleum Technologies Company Limited.

Headquartered in Houston, with a presence in China, Southeast Asia, and the UAE, OPT is a fast-growing oilfield chemicals company focusing on providing specialty chemicals for well construction and stimulation.

TAQA’s strategic partnership with OPT secures access to world-class specialty chemicals and products, which comprise a key component of the success and differentiation of TAQA’s services. Inspired by Saudi Aramco IKTVA program and aligned with TAQA’s corporate strategy, an investment of more than SR10 million ($2.7 million) in OPT will build a local chemical research, engineering, and manufacturing facility in Dhahran, with a mandate to introduce new engineering solutions, create more jobs and promote local content of product and chemical research and development in the Kingdom.

Khalid Nouh, TAQA chief executive, said: “Our Operations Chemicals Laboratories in Dammam 2nd Industrial City is a testament to TAQA’s growth strategy in chemical operations, and partnering with OPT will further cement our capabilities into oilfield chemicals research, engineering, and manufacturing, supporting TAQA’s technology development ambitions.”

Nouh added: “The local OPT Research, Engineering and Manufacturing Facility in Dhahran will expand the Kingdom’s chemical footprint and enable entry into specialty chemicals to address oil and gas well performance and integrity. We at TAQA are very proud of this milestone and look forward to continuing leading the way as a true local champion in oilfield services and equipment.”

Zhijun Xiao, CEO of OPT, said: “We are pleased with the partnership with TAQA, which will facilitate OPT to come in full force in the Kingdom to support our clients with chemical products, technologies, and services.”

He added: “We have been an industry leader in developing and servicing oilfield chemical technologies globally, and this collaboration will further allow us to manufacture chemicals locally in Saudi Arabia and will be able to support the IKTVA initiative. This unique opportunity will allow us to expand to other business lines and come one step closer to Saudi Aramco and other clients operating in the Middle East and Asia.”

The combination of TAQA and OPT resources will facilitate an increased service offering for customers and bring international technology developers to establish a presence in the Kingdom, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

Established in 2003, TAQA is collectively owned by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund and a host of prominent Saudi joint-stock companies and institutional investors.