Saudi Aramco’s Hawiyah project named project of the year

Hawiyah Gas Plant, Saudi Aramco's $ 4 bn mega project, has been named the Project of the Year by the Project Management Institute, the world's leading non-profit project management professional association. Mohammad A. Al-Juwair, general manager of Southern Area Projects Management, received the prestigious award on Saudi Aramco's behalf at the Institute's annual symposium in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 7. He aired for the assembly a video on Hawiyah, produced by Saudi Aramco.
The award is presented annually to the outstanding project and project team chosen in a worldwide competition based on superior performance in project execution. Mohammad A. Al-Juwair, general manager of Saudi Aramco's Southern Area Projects Management, accepts the Project of the Year award on the company's behalf.

Hawiyah is the first Saudi Aramco project to win the award, and Saudi Aramco is the first Middle Eastern corporation to receive it. "I am excited and very happy to accept this award on behalf of the Hawiyah team," Al-Juwair said. "At one time over 10,000 people made up of 50 different nationalities were working on the project. I feel great satisfaction that their efforts -- truly global in scope -- have been appreciated and recognized at the international level."
Hawiyah Gas Plant is the first completely non-associated gas plant in the Kingdom, designed and built from scratch to meet the increased local demand for sales gas. It was completed four months ahead of schedule and under budget. Hawiyah increased the Kingdom's gas supply by 30 % and is now producing 1.5 bn standard cf of gas, 160,000 barrels of hydrocarbon condensate and 1,000 tons of sulphur each day.

The project is transporting sales gas by pipeline for the first time to the Riyadh area. There it is being used to fuel three electric power plants, which were major consumers of crude oil. The conversion to gas-fired systems has freed up a considerable amount of crude for export, and sales gas is a more environmentally friendly fuel for this service.
"Hawiyah was a study in teamwork, in continuous project planning from front-end engineering to start-up, quality and safety in project execution," Al-Juwair said.

"The teamwork was not just between the Project Team and other Saudi Aramco organizations, but between Saudi Aramcons and contractors and between contractors themselves. The project, from the very beginning, was perceived as a win/win situation for all involved. This award is a true reflection of the spirit of cooperation and trust that was displayed throughout the project.
"I would like to express my appreciation to Abdallah S. Jum'ah, Saudi Aramco president and CEO, and all of corporate and executive management for their support and guidance in the execution of this important high visibility project and for their trust that the Hawiyah Team would rise to the challenge and successfully complete a world-class plant that contributes to a continuous supply of energy to the world," he concluded.