OREANDA-NEWS.   Accenture (ACN) and Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture developed by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company and The Dow Chemical Company (DOW), have signed a multi-year agreement to help Sadara provide business and IT support services across the organization leading to the opening of Sadara’s integrated chemicals complex in Jubail, which will be the largest petrochemical facility ever built in a single phase.

Accenture will help Sadara operate world-class technology practices across the enterprise including corporate and manufacturing applications and infrastructure services. Accenture will also help Sadara manage services for helpdesk, field support, workstation services and computer platform and network support, including data center operations. In addition, Accenture will work with Sadara to support the company’s Saudization strategy, a government initiative designed to encourage employment of Saudi nationals.

“Following a rigorous evaluation and assessment process, Accenture was selected to support our drive in building Sadara as a best-in-class organization that is agile and poised to address both the current and future needs with leading edge technology and second-to-none support and services,” said Ziad Al-Labban, Chief Executive Officer of Sadara. “We look forward to working with Accenture and achieving our goals.”

Sadara is building a fully integrated chemicals complex in Jubail Industrial City II, located in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The complex will be one of the world’s largest integrated chemical facilities, and the largest ever built in a single phase. Construction of the complex began in the fourth quarter of 2011 with the first plant start-up and first product expected by the second half of 2015, and with the site in full production by 2016. Sadara’s IT organization expects to operate a permanent data center based in Jubail, with an established IT delivery model which includes maintenance and support across all services. Currently Accenture is providing Sadara with service desk support which is fully staffed with trained Saudi women.

“Accenture looks forward to working with Sadara to build an IT organization that will support the company’s growth objectives, provide it with the best solutions to address key business issues and ensure that technology is a key driver of growth for what will be the world’s largest petrochemical plant ever built in one phase,” said Omar Boulos, Accenture’s regional managing director for the Middle East.