LONDON: Saudi Aramco has signed memorandums of understanding with six firms as part of an expansion of its program to increase local content and boost domestic supply chains, the company announced on Monday.
The agreements are with: Dutch Shell & AMG Recycling, Suzhou XDM, Shen Gong, Xinfoo, SUPCON, and Posco.
Aramco said the signings paved the way for new business launches across several innovative growth sectors, including steel plate manufacturing, industrial 3D printing and digital equipment manufacturing, and marked a “significant milestone” in its in-Kingdom total value add (IKTVA) program.
The announcement was a “step change” in Aramco’s pioneering IKTVA program, the company’s president and CEO Amin Nasser said. “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 collaborations would advance innovation, sustainability and enhance the scale of reliability, Nasser added.
“These partnerships will also have a strong focus on new technologies, by maximising our investments in non-metallic materials and the circular carbon economy, as well as the development of talented Saudis in communities where we operate.”
Ahmad Al-Saadi, Aramco’s senior vice president of technical services, said the company had a history of supporting the local business ecosystem.
“Our IKTVA program is a manifestation of our commitment to this and the resulting investments, either directly by Aramco or indirectly by suppliers, have promoted localization, contributed to Aramco’s supply chain resilience and enhanced Saudi Arabia’s economic growth,” he said
“Our planned partnerships will continue this journey and advance the Kingdom’s economic progress. We intend to act as an enabler, supporting the growth of national champions. We are expanding our flagship program, and expect more partnerships in the future.”
The six agreements:
POSCO – an agreement to collaborate on evaluating the feasibility of constructing an integrated steel plate manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia.
Suzhou XDM 3D Printing Company Ltd – an agreement to collaborate on industrial 3D printing technologies and development in Saudi Arabia.
SHEN GONG New Materials (Guang Zhou) Co. Ltd – an agreement 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. – an agreement to explore collaboration to develop plans for a state-of-the-art regional hub for the recycling of gasification ash and reclamation of spent catalysts, in addition to providing sustainable solutions.
Zhejiang SUPCON Technology Co. Ltd - an agreement to explore potential joint investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia for the services and manufacturing value chain.
