Riyadh - Mubasher: King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) and Dubai-based Oilfields Supply Center (OSC) signed an agreement on Thursday to establish OSC as an anchor tenant at SPARK, an energy city megaproject.

The centre will cement Saudi Arabia’s position as a global energy, industrial and technology hub.

In collaboration with Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), OSC will develop a business incubator, called the Common User Supply Base (CUSB) in a move to promote the oil and gas industry in the Kingdom and the region, according to Aramco’s statement on Thursday.

The deal was inked by Mohammed Y. Qahtani, chairman of SPARK and senior vice president for Upstream at Saudi Aramco, and Muneeb Abdulrazzaq Al Kazim, general manager of OSC Saudi Arabia.

OSC plans to invest up to $540 million over the coming two years, contributing to SPARK’s objective of localizing more than 300 new industrial and service facilities.

“OSC’s investment marks an important step in SPARK’s journey to become an integrated energy, industrial, technology and services hub. It will contribute to supply chain localization, boost job creation and support the overall advancement of the Kingdom’s energy sector,” Amin H. Nasser, CEO and president of Saudi Aramco, commented on the agreement.

The CUSB, which will be the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and the largest in the region, will be an industrial facility that provides industrial buildings of various sizes to host companies and supply them with integrated services such as logistics, technical engineering services and business support.

The centre will produce over 1 million square metres, with a potential expansion of an additional 500,000 square metres, the statement added.

"OSC‘s investment in SPARK and collaboration with Saudi Aramco will position the project as a major enabler for oil and gas manufacturing and service companies and related SMEs," Iqbal Mohammad Abedin, Director and General Manager Corporate Affairs of OSC, said.

After the operation, SPARK is expected to contribute more than $6 billion to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) annually and create ho thousands of direct and indirect jobs.