FOR more than 35 years Saudi Arabian Services Company Ltd (Sascom) has been supplying customers in the kingdom with oil and gas, transport, construction, agriculture and industrial products from some of the leading equipment manufacturers in the world, backed up by a nationwide distribution and customer service network.
Sascom’s Oilfield Supplies Division – one of three distinct business units which also includes Divisions for Automotive Parts and Industrial Equipment – has since 1996 been the oilfield supplies supplier of choice for leading drilling companies in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, including Saudi Aramco since 2001.
From its Dammam headquarters and branch offices in Riyadh and Jeddah, Sascom stocks a wide range of original products including high pressure gas fittings (up to 10,000 psi), manifold fittings, valves, steel pipes and structures, ring gaskets fasteners, hoses and consumables from world-renowned manufacturers including Kemper Valves & Fittings, Demco Valves and Oteco.
At the heart of Sascom’s service philosophy is the concept of rapid customer response. With a large inventory of high quality, reliable oilfield equipment held in stock in Dammam, the company says it can help minimise disruption and downtime at either the start up or maintenance phase of an oilfield operation.
Sascom’s infrastructure is further underpinned by the broad capabilities and resources of its parent company Rashed Al Rashed & Sons Group, one of Saudi Arabia’s most established and respected business conglomerates.
Sascom says another defining characteristic of the Oilfield Supplies Division is the product knowledge and can-do attitude of its professional workforce, whose ensure complete satisfaction for a discerning customer base which, in addition to Saudi Aramco, includes Nabors Drilling, Arabian Drilling Company, Drilling and Petroleum Services, Saudi Arabian Saipem, Dalma Gulf Drilling Company, Precision Drilling (Weatherford), Grey Wolf International, Hercules Offshore and Halliburton.
“All of the products we stock in Saudi Arabia are Aramco approved,” says Ramadan Ahmed M Abdullah, sales manager, who notes the significant upturn in business in Saudi Arabia in recent years.
“We have been on a solid growth trajectory since 1996, when the division was established,” he acknowledges, adding that 80 per cent of the company’s business is for land rigs.
Abdullah admits, however, that market competition is increasing, particularly since an influx into Saudi Arabia of Dubai-based oilfield equipment suppliers since 2009. Furthermore, he says, challenges have emerged in the supply chain, as overseas equipment manufacturers choose to make products to order rather than keeping large inventories, potentially slowing delivery times.
However, he says Sascom is able to mitigate such challenges.
“Although competition and challenges are increasing, Sascom, with the backing of the Rashed Al Rashed & Sons Group, has an excellent track record in the Saudi market, and we remain the ‘go to’ supplier for drilling companies in the kingdom who rely on us to deliver well-known, high quality products, often at short notice,” he adds.
