The Meteorological and Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA), under the auspicious of the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Defence, solicited a proposal from Saudi Oil Services (and their international partners) for the construction and long-term operation of two Environmental Protection Centres — one on the west coast (Jeddah) and one on the east coast (Dammam).
The project requirements included buildings, piers, vessels, aircraft, spill-recovery equipment, and computer technology.
The international partnership participants were Bucknall Sterling (UK), Mitsui Engineering (Japan), Hovertech (Canada), Ocean Routes (Australia), and Crowley Marine (USA).