Becht Scours for Partners in Saudi Arabia, Oman to Widen Operations

By: Chris van der Beek Wednesday, May 3, 2023

General Interest

Chris Van Der Beek was recently interviewed for an article in TRENDS – The International Media on Arab Affairs.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia— Becht, an American engineering services company, has revealed that it is in talks with potential partners in Saudi Arabia in order to widen its presence in the region.

According to its director for the Middle East, Chris Van Der Beek, Becht is also holding discussions with potential allies in Oman, and hopes to sign a number of downstream contracts in the country within a year.

Speaking to media, Van Der Beek said: “We already have a local agency partner in the UAE, and we are in discussions with potential agency partners in Saudi Arabia and Oman.”

Referring to its work in Oman, he added: “We are in talks about potential contracts at the moment, and we are expecting a number of them to be finalized over the next 12 months.”

Becht, the New Jersey-based company, specializes in engineering solutions, plant services, and software tools and has offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

The director said these contracts are expected to relate to refineries or refinery-integrated petrochemical facilities that are either operational or in the later stages of development.

The engineering giant’s moves in the Middle East come after the firm announced several significant acquisitions that have enhanced its portfolio of products and services.

Nearly two years back, Becht acquired the Dutch business consultancy EPS Customer Solutions, and in January 2020, Becht purchased Texas Gulf Coast Engineers.

About The Author

Chris van der Beek

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Chris van der Beek has leadership experience in Manufacturing Operations, Plant and Project Support and Business Opportunity Development in the Refining and Chemical industry, having worked 30 years for Shell with assignments in The Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and Qatar. Chris’ experience includes Shell roles as Operational Manager of a Chemicals Co-Polymer Plant in Germany and a Refinery Hydrocracker/Base Oil Plant in The Netherlands, as Commissioning and Start-Up Manager for the Refinery part of a Gas-To-Liquid Project in Qatar and as General Manager Engineering for Downstream Projects in EMEA region. He also worked in the Lower Olefins Business team to optimize business results and develop and implement new business opportunities and he did lead a transformation process for a Chemicals site to secure a safe, long term and profitable existence in this competitive business. Chris believes next to Strategic Step Changes, Continuous Improvement-Lean ways of working are the road to success. He integrates all disciplines to deliver as a team the best solution, with thoughtful HSSE leadership and Learning from Incidents and Experience in everything we do. Chris likes to develop and coach people to reach their full potential. Chris’ role as Director Operations is to help Becht better serve our clients in the European, Middle-East and African region, develop new business opportunities and also establish a very strong talent pool in the region that will support Becht’s ambitious growth plans. Chris holds a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Twente in The Netherlands.