Aramco signs six MoUs for digital and industrial growth

Aramco has signed MoUs with Shell & AMG Recycling BV (AMG) from the Netherlands, Chinese firms Suzhou XDM, Shen Gong, Xinfoo and SUPCON, and Posco from South Korea in a bid to grow its digital and industrial capabilities.

These strategic collaborations pave the way for the launch of new businesses across multiple innovative growth sectors, including steel plate manufacturing, industrial 3D printing, digital equipment manufacturing, energy management and control; catalyst manufacturing and recycling, and advanced chip and smart sensor manufacturing. 

These new collaborations reflect Aramco's commitment to increasing the company's reliability and operational efficiency, as well as its commitment to further enhancing the Kingdom's commercial ecosystem and increasing employment and development opportunities for talented Saudis. Since iktva's launch, Aramco's local content index has increased from 35% at the end of 2015 to 56%.

Amin H. Nasser, Aramco's President & Chief Executive Officer, said: "Today's announcement is a step change in Aramco's pioneering IKTVA program which was launched in 2015.  Despite the uncertainties surrounding the global economy, we have sustained our focus on our long-term goals to enable growth and development for a thriving ecosystem and a more diversified Saudi economy."

The six agreements concern:

• POSCO – to collaborate on evaluating the feasibility of constructing an integrated steel plate manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia.
• Suzhou XDM 3D Printing Company – to collaborate on industrial 3D printing technologies and development in Saudi Arabia.
• SHEN GONG New Materials (Guang Zhou) Co. –  to focus on developing control systems technologies for LED lighting, energy management and intelligent control.
• XINFOO Sensor Technology Company Limited – an agreement to explore opportunities in chip manufacturing and related technologies.
• Shell & AMG Recycling B.V.  – explore collaboration to develop plans for a state-of-the-art regional hub for the recycling of gasification ash and reclamation of spent catalyst, in addition to providing sustainable solutions.
• Zhejiang SUPCON Technology Co – explore potential joint investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia for the services and manufacturing value chain.