Non-oil activities increasingly important for Aramco

DUBAI: Saudi Aramco’s annual review, published on Thursday, highlights activities outside the traditional energy business — technology, innovation and human capital — which it sees as central to its corporate structure and which it believes will help maximize its value for the upcoming initial public offering (IPO).
“Technology and innovation are key drivers of our strategy to maximize the inherent value of the resource base, enable a more diversified and globally competitive domestic market for our products, and create a Saudi workforce with a world-class knowledge base,” the review said.
“We realize these goals by developing and commercializing new technologies, evolving strategic alliances with industry partners, forging relationships with world-leading research and academic institutions, and pursuing strategic acquisitions and investments to generate additional value,” it added.
In research and development, Aramco’s efforts focus on the upstream, downstream, and sustainability domains — specifically on high-impact technologies that have the potential to create significant competitive advantage for operations, and help grow new businesses.
In 2016, Aramco “progressed initiatives across the hydrocarbon value chain, from underwater robotic seismic acquisition and faster reservoir modeling, to improved refinery yields and new fuel formulations,” the review said.
Research network
Research is an increasingly important part of Aramco’s corporate strategy. Its Global Research Network has 11 offices in the Kingdom and around the world. Three in the US — in Detroit, Boston and Houston — came together to collaborate on climate change issues in 2016.
The venture capital subsidiary, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV), headquartered in Dhahran and with a presence in North America, Europe, and Asia, invests globally in startup and high-growth companies developing technologies of strategic importance.
In 2016, SAEV made eight new direct investments and began a series of technology pilot projects, the review said.
Human resources and localization of jobs and services also play a prominent part in the review.
“The Kingdom is a land rich in natural resources — especially oil and gas. But its real wealth lies in the talents of its people and the potential of its younger generations. We help unleash this potential by delivering community-based corporate citizenship initiatives that give people the tools they need to seize the opportunities of the future,” it said.
Aramco runs 141 company schools in the Kingdom, and launched a program to encourage women’s employment in science, technology, education and mathematics.
In 2016, the flagship King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, an initiative for enabling the knowledge economy through creativity and culture, opened in Dhahran. It organizes activities in Saudi Arabia and abroad on the themes of history, archaeology, arts and film of the Kingdom.