Machine demand rising in KSA

Demand for pipe layers is increasing

Work for machinery contractors is swinging back into action over Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province – thanks largely to the upswing in the price of oil.

Refineries have been investing in equipment for exploration and for installing pipes, as well as for building the assorted vessels and structures used in offshore drilling.

Abdullah Shehab, from Riyadh-based parts supplier Shehab and Sons, said of the oil and gas market: “The cycle has started again. All the big players are there.” He believes that secondhand machinery is playing an ever bigger part in what is a notoriously price sensitive market.

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"Used equipment is in big demand right now. People will bring machines in from outside to start their own contracting business, either by renting to another contracting company, or by going directly to the project,” he said.

Shehab said that being where the client’s machines are helps to service them more effectively, particularly in the remote areas of the Eastern Province. “We need to be close to our customers by having more branches. By having a big variety in the product line by having more parts” he said, adding, “The non-genuine parts are more popular, I would say, as it is a price-sensitive market.”