The Weir Group has launched the UAE’s first wellhead manufacturing facility, an investment worth $20m, to locally produce highly engineered equipment for upstream and downstream oil and gas operations, reported Trade Arabia.

It will provide turnkey solutions to customers across the MENA and Caspian regions including manufacturing, testing, product validation and services to support the sector.

The facility is based in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone, covers the area of 250,000 square feet, and offers jobs for more than 300 employees.

Trade Arabia quoted Weir Group’s Chief Executive, Keith Cochrane, as saying at the opening event: “Weir has been operating in Middle East for more than 100 years and this unique investment reflects the demand for the world’s best oil and gas technology to be made in the UAE. It also demonstrates the strength of our local manufacturing and engineering talent and the key position UAE holds as a center of growth in the global oil and gas industry.”

Vikas Handa, the Managing Director of Weir Oil and Gas Services added: “This investment means oil companies in the region can now get the products they need, when they need them with rapid response and delivery times. Our engineers will work more closely with our customers to offer world class engineering solutions and products, manufactured locally, saving them valuable time and money.”

For his part, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the Chairman of DP World and Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation said: “Weir Group’s new state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Jafza reinforces the Free Zone’s status as the business hub for the oil and gas industry for the wider Middle East region that spans from West Asia, the CIS, Africa and the Indian Subcontinent.”