ExxonMobil Saudi Arabia (Emsa)’s support for a programme of partnership between the private and public sectors (PPP) came in for praise from the kingdom’s top investment authority at a ceremony in Riyadh.

“We’re very appreciative of ExxonMobil for maintaining an active role in this knowledge-sharing effort,” commented Amr Al-Dabbagh, Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia).
“This support furthers our strategy to accelerate and enhance services to local and foreign investors for developing a pro-business environment. Furthermore, Sagia will be honouring all companies that make an impact on the Saudi economy,” he added.
“The public-private programme provides for cooperation in strengthening Sagia’s expertise in ways that ultimately contribute to its pro-business aims and also enhances ExxonMobil’s ability to contribute to the development of the kingdom’s institutional capacity,” a Sagia spokesman said.
The chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil Saudi Arabia, Desmond Carr, attended the ceremony along with EMSA’s HR manager Saud Al Arifi, and chemicals vice president Robert Hutchinson.
Carr said: “A survey by Sagia shows ExxonMobil to be the largest foreign direct investor in the kingdom through its participation in joint ventures with Sabic, Saudi Aramco and the private sector. These joint ventures, which amount to $25 billion, have an impressive track record of human resource development and we are proud of the very high 80 per cent Saudisation rates they have achieved as well as their industry-leading health and safety records.”  By way of example, Carr noted that the Jubail Petrochemical joint venture with Sabic would celebrate 15 years without an employee lost-time accident. “This remarkable record reflected many years of effective cooperation between the venture partners,” he said.
He also noted that “joining efforts with Sagia through the PPP was well aligned with ExxonMobil’s global social responsibility policy and enables us to further contribute to the kingdom’s economy and organisational development.”
  The Sagia spokesman suggested that both the public and private sectors had much to offer. A talented, creative and competent workforce existed in the private sector and possessed exceptional management, development and team-building skills. Likewise, each public sector organisation conveyed certain key capacities needed by the private sector. These local talent pools, once exchanged, could play instrumental roles in developing the performance and capabilities of the participating organisations.
ExxonMobil’s history in the kingdom began more than a half-century ago when Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) and Socony Vacuum Company (subsequently renamed Exxon and Mobil, respectively) acquired ownership shares of the Arabian American Oil Company or Aramco. The expansion of Aramco and the great work done more recently by Saudi Aramco have contributed enormously to the creation of modern Saudi Arabia.