Saudi Arabia’s Aramco has announced the signing of deals with a potential total value of approximately $90bn, with major US companies.
In total there were 34 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements, covering collaborations and partnerships relating to a range of Aramco’s activities, including:
- Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
- Fuels
- Chemicals
- Emission-reduction technologies
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Manufacturing
- Asset management
- Short-term cash investments
- Procurement of materials, equipment, and services
Saudi Aramco investments in US companies
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 and CEO, said: “Yesterday’s 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.
“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 MoUs and agreements signed by Aramco, and its Aramco Group Companies, are as follows:
Downstream
- Honeywell UOP: MoU related to technology licensing for an aromatics project
- Motiva: MoU related to an aromatics project in Port Arthur, subject to a final investment decision
- Afton Chemical: MoUs related to development and supply of chemical fuel additives in pipelines and retail fuel offerings
- ExxonMobil: MoU related to evaluating a significant upgrade to the SAMREF refinery and expanding the facility into a world-class integrated petrochemical complex
Upstream
- Sempra Infrastructure: MoU related to previously announced HOA regarding liquified natural gas (LNG) equity and offtake stake in Port Arthur LNG 2
- Woodside Energy: Collaboration Agreement to explore global opportunities, including an equity interest and LNG offtake from the Louisiana LNG project. Additionally, both companies are exploring opportunities for a potential collaboration in lower-carbon ammonia
- NextDecade: Final Agreement to purchase 1.2 million tonnes per annum of LNG for a 20-year term from Train 4 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, subject to certain conditions, including a positive final investment decision of Train 4
Technology and innovation
- Amazon/AWS: non-binding Strategic Framework agreement related to collaboration on digital transformation and lower-carbon initiatives
- NVIDIA: MoU related to developing advanced Industrial AI computing infrastructure, establishing an AI Hub and AI Enterprise platforms, an Engineering and Robotics Centre of Excellence, training and upskilling, and collaborating with NVIDIA’s startup ecosystem
- Qualcomm: MoU with Aramco Digital that aims to explore entry into a strategic collaboration that will focus on key digital transformation use cases, leveraging Aramco Digital’s 450 MHz 5G industrial network to connect intelligent edge devices with on-device AI capabilities, including smartphones, rugged industrial devices, robots, drones, cameras, sensors, and other IoT devices
Technical services
- Procured materials and services: MoUs were signed to reflect the existing relationships with strategic US suppliers: SLB, Baker Hughes, McDermott, Halliburton, Nabors, Helmerich & Payne, Valaris, NESR, Weatherford, Air Products, KBR, Flowserve, NOV, Emerson, GE Vernova, and Honeywell. These suppliers provide high-standard materials and professional services that help support Aramco’s projects and operations
Strategy and corporate development
- Guardian Glass: MoU to localise specialty glass manufacturing for architectural applications in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Finance
- Wisayah asset management agreements with PIMCO, State Street Corporation, and Wellington
- Agreements for short-term cash investments through a unified investment fund, the “Fund of One,” with BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and PIMCO
