How US Tech Giant MoUs are Underpinning Aramco Innovation

Saudi Aramco — the fourth largest company in the world by revenue — is partnering with a collection of major US tech players as part of its ongoing commitment to innovation, long-term growth and a more sustainable energy future.

Overall, Aramco has signed 34 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements with major US companies across a variety of sectors, with the total value of these combined deals estimated at around US$90bn.

Aramco’s partnerships with US companies

Spanning areas including AI, digital transformation, liquified natural gas (LNG), material procurement and sustainable manufacturing, Aramco says the MoUs and agreements “aim to build on the longstanding relationship between Aramco and US companies, enhance shareholder value and foster further collaboration and innovation in the energy sector and beyond”.

Amin H. Nasser, Aramco President & CEO, says that these announcements “show the breadth and depth of Aramco’s long history of partnerships with US companies since the first discovery of oil in the Kingdom more than 90 years ago”. 

He adds: “Our US-related activities have evolved over the decades and now include multi-disciplinary R&D, the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, start-up investments, potential collaborations in LNG and ongoing procurement. 

“As Aramco pursues an ambitious value-driven growth strategy, we believe that aligning with world-class partners supports further development of our operations, strategic diversification of our portfolio, industrial innovation and ongoing capability development within the Kingdom.” 

The US tech companies working with Aramco

Of the 34 MoUs signed by Aramco through Aramco Group Companies, collaborations with US tech powerhouses form the backbone of some of its most ambitious moves.

They include:

• Downstream: Aramco has signed an MoU with Honeywell UOP that centres on a technology licensing for an aromatics project. Honeywell UOP is a Honeywell division with a distinct focus on the energy sector, specifically in the refining, petrochemical and gas processing industries.
• Technology and innovation: Aramco is working with Amazon, specifically Amazon Web Services (AWS), on a non-binding strategic framework agreement related to collaboration on digital transformation and lower-carbon initiatives.
• Technology and innovation: An MoU with Nvidia focuses on developing advanced Industrial AI computing infrastructure, establishing an AI Hub and AI Enterprise platforms, an Engineering and Robotics Center of Excellence, training and upskilling and collaborating with Nvidia’s startup ecosystem.
• Technology and innovation: By signing an MoU with Qualcomm, Aramco Digital will explore entry into a strategic collaboration that will focus on key digital transformation use cases, leveraging Aramco Digital’s 450MHz 5G industrial network to connect intelligent edge devices with on-device AI capabilities. This includes smartphones, rugged industrial devices, robots, drones, cameras, sensors and other IoT devices.

As well as this, Aramco has signed MoUs with SLB — formerly Schlumberger — Baker Hughes, Nabors, Emerson, Honeywell, GE Vernova and KBR, among others, in reflection of existing relationships with strategic US tech suppliers.

Aramco and tech partnerships

Aside from its latest MoUs, Aramco already works extensively with US tech companies, and has done for decades.

Collaboration between the state-owned Saudi energy giant and US tech companies covers areas like digital transformation, AI, cloud computing, procurement and financial services — something Aramco attests is essential to its ongoing modernisation and innovation efforts, supporting both its energy operations and Saudi Arabia’s broader digital transformation goals.

CTO Ahmad Al-Khowaiter believes technology has a key role to play at Aramco.

Speaking at the Global AI Summit 2024, he said: “I am confident that Aramco's investment in AI technologies will completely transform the way we operate.

“Through the partnerships we build, the problems we solve together and the power we supply, Aramco can help the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia become not only an energy leader, but an AI leader too.”

Explore the latest edition of Technology Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Tech & AI LIVE.

Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.

Technology Magazine is a BizClik brand