Saudi Aramco and Aveva to partner to drive sustainability through digitalisation

Saudi Aramco and Aveva have announced plans to form a strategic collaboration. The partnership, which is focused on achieving regional sustainability via digital transformation, will help enable Aveva to establish their digital hub, with an R&D capability, in the Middle East, headquartered in Saudi Arabia.

This collaboration is designed to foster a working relationship between the two organisations in implementing various digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data management. Aveva and Aramco aim to work together to unlock the benefits of these technologies following the kingdom’s transition to industrial sustainability. One of the partnership’s primary goals would be to use digital technologies to develop and deploy blue hydrogen and decarbonisation facilities in Saudi Arabia. Another area in which the companies intend to work together is implementing predictive analytics technology across Aramco’s operating facilities.

The company’s digital twin technology, which combines asset design and predictive analytics to create a fully integrated, real-time data visualisation centre that reveals functional insights, unlocks efficiencies, and identifies new pathways to optimise performance, is intended to be a key offering for customers in the region through this new hub.

Commenting on the initiative, Ahmad Al-Sa’adi, senior vice president of technical services, Aramco, said, “One of the key pillars for realising the kingdom’s Vision 2030 is digital transformation. Digital technologies have the potential to accelerate the transformation of the industrial sector and drive it towards more efficient and sustainable operations.”

Aveva’s CEO Peter Herweck also commented, “Through this partnership the vision of our companies is to play a fundamental role in industrial sector decarbonisation within Saudi Arabia and the delivery of its sustainable goals, bringing capabilities to optimise every aspect of the value chain with sophisticated imaging, data analytics and deep-learning technologies that this initiative would bring. Through this initiative, Aveva aims to contribute to creating job opportunities in the kingdom and throughout the Middle East region.”

Last month, Saudi Aramco reported $25.5bn net income in Q2 2021. The world’s biggest energy company made net income of SAR95.5bn ($25.5bn) in the second quarter, the highest level since the end of 2018. Free cash flow rose to $22.6bn, above the state-controlled firm’s quarterly dividend of $18.8bn for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Read: Saudi Aramco reports $25.5bn net income in Q2 2021

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