Earlier this summer, Ras Tanura’s Saudi Aramco Youth Soccer Organization (SAYSO) held a soccer tournament with 22 teams participating from a number of Saudi Aramco communities, making it the largest youth soccer tournament ever held at Saudi Aramco. Among the tournament winners were the Ras Tanura A – Under 10 boys team, left photo, and the Ras Tanura Under 13 boys team, right photo. For those interested in participating in SAYSO activities, registration is now open through the SAYSO website on ShareK.

In an effort to preserve the biodiversity along the pipelines corridor and facilities, Aramco has successfully replanted 192 mature acacia trees and saved the local habitat near one of its operating areas.

The move is supporting the Saudi Aramco’s Environmental Protection Policy Statement, calling for environmental protection and minimizing operational impacts on the environment from company operations.

A new grass root gas compression station will be constructed at a pump station about 140 km east of Riyadh. The proposed location of the new compression station, with an approximate area of 420,000 square meters, was found to be an important habitat for the old acacia trees and many other native plants and wildlife. Acacia trees help soil stabilization and they are a food source for wildlife, in addition to their use in traditional medicine recipes.

The majority of the replanted trees are flourishing in their new location and the project has been well received by communities near the pump station, as well as national environmental authorities. Also, the effort has been shared with international authorities as an example of our commitment toward controlling desertification.

The Kingdom features a variety of climate systems, and therefore, many natural environments and habitats can be found. Saudi Arabia has 2,282 plants, of which 600 species are considered rare or endangered. But as development in the Kingdom accelerates, large areas of virgin lands are being transformed into urban and agricultural lands. This, combined with dramatic fluctuations in climate and periodic drought, has made it much more difficult for wildlife to survive in their natural habitats.

Participating in national efforts to protect the environment, the company continues to develop and implement procedures to reduce environmental threats, identify and preserve high quality company reservation land, and restore degraded key habitat near our facilities.

Saudi Aramco has inked the contract for the first phase of the huge South Dhahran Home Ownership Program (SDHOP), a project that will witness the initial construction of 955 housing units in a fully serviced community for Saudi Aramco employees.

Azmeel Contracting has been entrusted to deliver a large chunk of the first phase, with the contract for the remaining 1,821 housing units of phase one expected to be awarded later this year.

SDHOP is planning to construct 8,521 units in total over two phases with schools and many other community facilities on 10 square kilometers of land. The development will be sited just 8 kilometers southwest of Saudi Aramco’s Dhahran headquarters.

Motaz A. Al-Mashouk, acting executive director of Community Infrastructure & Public Projects, signed the first contract with Ahmed F. Al-Jabr, managing director of Azmeel Contracting.

Al-Mashouk said the signing ceremony marked the culmination of over two years of hard work by all parties.

“In some ways we have come to the end of a long journey, and in others, we have reached the start of another very exciting journey. This project is one that is dear to our hearts in Saudi Aramco because it touches the lives of employees and is a model for not just our company but for the Kingdom as a whole. A tremendous effort has allowed us to get where we are.

“We are honored to have you here for this historic project — what we have done here is truly exceptional.” Al-Mashouk underlined the importance of the contractor adhering to Saudi Aramco’s strict standards of construction and job and community safety.

Abdulrahman I. Al-Warthan, manager of SDHOP Projects Department, said the contract will enable the building of affordable housing units in a modern community that will provide comfort and quality of life for Saudi Aramco employees and their families.

For a second consecutive time, Saudi Aramco has been awarded the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and Road Safety Forum’s “Public Awareness Campaign Award” for the company’s Traffic Safety Signature Program.

The award was announced during the fourth annual ITS and Road Safety Forum held earlier this month in Doha, Qatar. The event is organized by the International Quality and Productivity Center.

Led by Saudi Aramco, in collaboration with government ministries, traffic enforcement agencies, and civilian entities, the Traffic Safety Signature Program (TSSP) is designed to drive a cultural transformation in traffic safety and seeks to eliminate the root causes of traffic incidents by embedding preventative mechanisms to promote road safety for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

Sultan H. Al Zahrani, secretary general of the Eastern Province Traffic Safety Council and director of the TSSP, said: “Saudi Aramco is proud to receive this prestigious award, which demonstrates our ongoing commitment to intensifying focus on traffic safety and environmental protection, particularly among young people. Working with our many partners, the high-impact Traffic Safety Signature Program has been transformative in preventing accidents, reducing injuries, and ultimately, saving lives. Safety continues to be Saudi Aramco’s No. 1 priority.”

TSSP is established on four core areas, or 4Es, including: education and awareness; engineering; enforcement; and emergency response.

The program is underpinned by a newly established Road Safety Audit mechanism, which includes the study of traffic volume at major intersections and truck movement on highways. This has enabled Saudi Aramco to identify flashpoint areas where accidents are more likely to occur.

Armed with this continuously updated information, the TSSP integrates several core activities, including: upgraded traffic police and highway security force command centers, use of state-of-theart vehicle speed monitoring technology, stricter law enforcement, including mandatory car seats for all newborns at company medical facilities, upgraded cameras and street signs, establishment of new medical response facilities and paramedic training, and enlistment of insurance companies to help in the effort to eliminate traffic incidents.

In addition, a traffic safety school kit for students in grades kindergarten through 12, multimedia materials, driving simulators, and traffic safety gardens are being used to increase levels of awareness and understanding among drivers, passengers, and pedestrians on the importance of safe driving and proper road user behavior.

Company home to three of world’s 500 most powerful supercomputers.

When the International Supercomputing Conference was held in Germany for its 30th year recently, a list of the world’s 500 most powerful supercomputers was on display, along with information about their whereabouts, operational systems, and other technical information.

The conference publishes a list of the most powerful supercomputer every six months. The list is selected based on a speed test called LINPACK that measures the computer’s ability to execute certain mathematical calculations in one second.

When the most recent list was announced, the Chinese Tianhe-2 topped the list as the most powerful supercomputer in the world. It can execute nearly 33 trillion (petaflops) operations per second, contains 3 million computer processors, and consume nearly 18 megawatts of electricity.

Seven supercomputers in Kingdom

This year, seven supercomputers in the Kingdom made the list, with three of them at Saudi Aramco; Makman, Faris and Makman-2. The other two are located at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) (Shaheen and Shaheen-2), one at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) (Sanam), and one at King Abdulaziz University.

The Makman-2 supercomputer of Saudi Aramco’s Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center (EXPEC) is ranked the 28th on the new list. It contains more than 76,000 central processors and can crank out 2.249 trillion operations a second. The other computer, Faris, is equipped with more than 40,960 processors with the ability to execute 816 billion operations per second. Makman-1 ranked 151 with a speed of 441 billion operations per second.

EXPEC houses numerous other supercomputers that were not mentioned in top 500 list, but if all of EXPEC’s computers were to be integrated, their speed would reach more than 6.202 trillion operations a second, equal to the computer that ranked number seven on the list.

Benefits of supercomputers

Most personal computers have a maximum of one or two processors, which is insufficient to analyze and process the huge amount of data in scientific and engineering fields in oil companies, scientific centers, and Internet companies where supercomputers, such as Shaheen and Makman, are used for high-speed data processing to save time and efforts to obtain results.

These supercomputers became the best solution for tackling complicated scientific problems such as understanding the structure of proteins to improve the quality of medications, analyzing mineral properties and measuring their endurance by simulation. They also play a critical role in climate study and forecasting natural events modules such as tsunamis. Today, they are even used to solve daily problems such as traffic congestion and determining the best routes for airplanes.

At Saudi Aramco, supercomputers are used for seismic processing and reservoir simulation. The systems have been in use in EXPEC since 2001, and they are operated by the company’s employees through the use of an open-source system (Linux).

Nasser thanks Kingdom’s visionary leadership; pledges to take Company forward aligned with Saudi Arabia’s development.

Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin H. Nasser expressed his profound gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, chairman of the Saudi Aramco Supreme Council for the trust bestowed upon him to preside over Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco).

“I am deeply humbled and honored by the trust bestowed upon me by our Kingdom’s leaders and I thank the Saudi Aramco Supreme Council in entrusting me with the responsibility of taking this great company to even greater heights of achievement,” Nasser said.

Saudi Aramco will remain committed to being the most reliable supplier of energy and will continue to pursue its strategy of becoming the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals enterprise and be amongst the foremost creators of energy technologies, Nasser added.

Nasser thanked the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco chaired by HE Khalid A. Al-Falih for their support. He also expressed his appreciation to HE Ali I. Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

In addition, Nasser highlighted the role of Saudi Aramco’s management team and employees, crediting them for their hard work and dedication that has enabled the Company in becoming the global leader in reliably delivering energy to the world.

“Our continued success lies in carrying forward the firm foundations established by my predecessors and in the vast knowledge and capabilities of our employees who have enabled the Company to make tremendous progress over the past eight decades. I am privileged to lead a remarkably talented team, whose skills and support will be so crucial to address the challenges of the future.”

The Saudi Aramco Supreme Council held its first meeting in Jeddah under the chairmanship of HRH Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Chairman of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, and Chairman of Saudi Aramco’s Supreme Council.

The meeting included a presentation on Saudi Aramco and its role in supporting the Kingdom’s sustainable development which included a review of Saudi Aramco’s Strategic Transformation Program to be an integrated energy and chemicals company and the role of the program in contributing to the Kingdom’s sustainable development.

The Council made a number of decisions, including:

• The appointment of Amin H. Nasser as President of Saudi Aramco.
• The endorsement of the Company’s five-year plan (2015-2019) and the associated capital program.
• The appointment of independent auditors for the company and its subsidiaries and determining their remuneration for 2015.
• The approval of the Company’s 2014 balance sheet and the profit and loss account (the Consolidated Financial Statements).
• The approval of the 2014 Annual Report of the Board of Directors and the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors from liability for their management of the Company during the same year.

At the conclusion of the meeting, HRH the Chairman of the Supreme Council commended the excellent performance of the Company and its employees and expressed his pride in Saudi Aramco as a leading national company.

Abdulrahman Al-Wuhaib, Senior Vice President Downstream, Saudi Aramco and LANXESS CEO, Matthias Zachert at signing of JV agreement to create a global synthetic rubber products company.

Saudi Aramco subsidiary, Aramco Overseas Company, and German specialty chemicals company LANXESS have signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement to create a new company for the development, production, marketing, sale and distribution of synthetic rubber used in the global tire industry, auto-parts manufacturing and a wide range of other applications.

LANXESS will contribute its existing synthetic rubber businesses to the joint venture. The businesses have 3,700 highly skilled employees, an established footprint of 20 production sites and 4 global research centers in nine countries across Europe, Asia and the Americas. In 2014 the business contributed approximately 3 Billion Euro to LANXESS group revenues.

Saudi Aramco, through its subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company, will establish its stake in the new joint venture company via a share subscription and will bring financial stability, additional scale and resources, continued investment in technology, unrivalled opportunities to integrate with petrochemical facilities, and cost-competitive access to reliable feedstock supplies to the venture.

“This is yet another major step forward in Saudi Aramco’s globally-integrated downstream expansion strategy. It will further enhance our competitive position in integrating our diverse portfolio,” said Amin H. Nasser, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco. “Partnering with a world-class company like Lanxess will help scale up our global presence, and in turn create more opportunities for sustainable growth in Saudi Arabia and in markets around the world.”

Abdulrahman Al-Wuhaib, Senior Vice President Downstream, Saudi Aramco said: “Through the joint venture agreement we are investing in a world-class synthetic rubber and elastomer products capability that already supplies many of the world’s largest tire and automotive-parts manufacturing customers. In addition to creating a new revenue stream for Saudi Aramco, the agreement will spur economic growth and diversification opportunities for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region in high-volume sectors, such as tire and auto-parts manufacturing, that are dependent on higher-margin, value-added chemicals products.”

The LANXESS existing synthetic rubber businesses supply high-performance and versatile products used to produce high-quality synthetic rubbers for the global tire industry and functional components for the automotive, gas/oil exploration and production and mechanical, construction and cable engineering industries. The portfolio is complemented by reliable, high-quality and global technical service.

LANXESS CEO, Matthias Zachert said: “Saudi Aramco provides the best strategic fit for the business and its employees, and there is compelling industrial logic to the deal. Adding greater stability, R&D focus, and unrivalled access to feedstock to our world class product portfolio will give the new joint venture the opportunity of long-term and sustainable growth that also benefits our expanding global customer base.”

The transaction is subject to approval of the relevant antitrust authorities. Closing of the transaction is expected in the first half of 2016.

Muhammed Ehteshamul (Ehtesham) Hayder, a petroleum engineering system specialist with the Petroleum Engineering Department, has retired from the company after 14 years of service.

Born in Bangladesh, Ehteshamul and his wife, Mina, arrived in Saudi Arabia in 2001. Previously, Ehtesham worked for NASA Research Centers in Cleveland, Ohio, and Hampton, Virginia, in the U.S.

One of his career highlights was being part of the Saudi Aramco team that helped design the Linux Cluster Parallel Computing with Infiniband high-speed interconnect for reservoir simulation.

Ehtesham holds a doctorate in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University, New Jersey, an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Tulane University in Louisiana, and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and Technology (BUET) from the Bangladesh University of Engineering.

In addition, working with his colleagues in EXPEC Computing Center, he developed software for coupled reservoir simulation with POWERS, a Saudi Aramco in-house reservoir simulator and a vendor software for the surface facilities network.

Ehtesham worked closely with the Reservoir Management Group to optimize production in the Qatif and Abqaiq fields. He also contributed to optimizing and the adding of new features to POWERS.

He was part of the development team that developed fault tolerant parallel computation strategies for reservoir simulations.

Ehtesham regards the most rewarding aspect of his career the opportunity to work in a multicultural environment with people from across the world. Many of them have been “like family,” he says.

Besides being a scientist, Ehtesham is an avid photographer with a keen interest in travel. In his free time, he enjoys gardening and the nurturing of organic vegetables. He was also an active member of the Dhahran Cricket Association (DCA) and the Dhahran Badminton Association (DBA).

Mina has a Master of Fine Arts in painting from City University of New York and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in classical music from M.S. University of Baroda, India. Mina was an artist of some renown in Dhahran and received a number of awards for her artwork. She had multiple group and solo exhibitions in New York, Canada, Bangladesh, and Dhahran. She was also a popular art teacher.

Her interests also include ceramics, creative cooking, reading literature, traveling, and photography. She regularly practices Tai Chi and was an active member of the Dhahran Women’s Group and the Dhahran Art Group. She also took on the role of editor for Dhahran’s Art Group newsletter “Fine Line” for four years. She was the chairwoman for the Dhahran Art Group Annual Fine Art Show, “Harmony,” in 2009.

In the future, the couple hopes to travel to places such as Alaska, Japan, Paris, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, India, the Maldives, and Tahiti islands. They hope to open their own art studio and museum, and Ethesham wishes to continue work in his field of petroleum engineering and in parallel computing through consulting.

The Hayders very much enjoyed living in Dhahran, and both feel sad about leaving their many friends in Dhahran. They can be contacted by writing 2614 Meadowlark Hills Court, Spring TX, U.S.A. 77389, or by emailing mehayder@yahoo.com.

For Akanke Abdul-Khaaliq, winning the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) was a dream come true. But it was a dream that required much hard work, perseverance, unwavering determination and personal commitment.

In late July, the Aramcon earned the highest honor for a Toastmaster in Saudi Arabia by being named Toastmaster of the Year for the 2014-15 term. This was on top of earning the highest educational award given by Toastmasters International — the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) — earlier in the summer.

Abdul-Khaaliq is the first woman to win the Toastmaster of the Year award in the Kingdom in 35 years.

Toastmasters International is a worldwide organization whose mission is to empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. The organization has four core values: integrity, respect, service, and excellence.

Abdul-Khaaliq’s DTM award was the culmination of achieving other prerequisite milestones required on the communication and leadership tracks of Toastmasters Internationals advanced curriculum. Multiple tiers of certifications must be earned before being awarded the DTM award.

Abdul-Khaaliq received the 2014-2015 Toastmaster of the Year award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the success of communication and leadership development for Toastmasters in Saudi Arabia. It also recognizes her tremendous personal achievements and contributions made in outreach activities outside of Toastmasters.

The founding president and immediate past President of the Dhahran Women’s Toastmasters Club, she was one of 10 nominated nationwide for this award.

She follows her husband, Nashid Abdul-Khaaliq, a technical adviser working at the Upstream Professional Development Center, who was named the 2013-2014 Toastmaster of the Year.

Abdul-Khaaliq has been a successful creative writer, TV host and producer of talk shows, a counselor, a mentor, an artist, and a devoted and supportive wife and mother.

Her journey in Toastmasters started in 2009, when she realized the need to hone her public speaking skills in order to address, inspire and motivate large numbers of people. Being a successful TV host, there was no dearth of confidence, but the anxiety of communicating with large audiences in person in a free flowing, dynamic and interactive way challenged her. It was this very need that brought her to Toastmasters.

She accepted the challenge and performed admirably in delivering more than 40 speeches, winning numerous speech contests, becoming an innovative leader and founder of Toastmasters clubs, mentoring new and inexperienced toastmasters in Division M, and hosting many workshops and seminars which culminated with her earning the DTM.

We salute you, Akanke, for your significant accomplishment as a DTM and for being recognized as the Toastmaster of the Year 2014-2015 for all of Saudi Arabia. Congratulations!

With a cost only 30% of a conventional dewatering system, Saudi Aramco’s Riyadh Refinery comes with a considerable financial upside.

Being the brainchild of two Saudi Aramco engineers, Fawaz Al-Sahan and Omar Al-Zayed, the so-called Sound Velocity Dewatering System enables the safe control of a water stream exiting a dewatering tank system.

The innovation works by calculating the velocity of the sound energy as the sound travels through the water stream flowing through the drain line connected to a dewatering tank.

Through monitoring the velocity of the sound energy for a period of time, the reading is used to automatically operate a control valve to a precise position, enabling the draining of the water.

The system, which has been described as simple and cost-effective, has the following standout features:

• There is no need to cut and weld to install it because it is a clamp-in device
• Its cost is only 30% of what the conventional Dewatering System cost
• It uses the variation of the sound velocity between water and hydrocarbon
• Because it eliminates hydrocarbon from going to the oily water lift station, it greatly minimizes the risk to a system that previously has been involved in a number of occurrences over the past few years.

“The real benefit of any patent is applying it commercially,” says Abdulrahman Al-Fadhel, manager of Aramco’s Riyadh Refinery. Thanks to proper planning and timing, we managed to include the installation of this system in 31 tanks, resulting in $8 million in cost avoidance”.

As a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Saudi Aramco took part in the three-day WEF Annual Meeting of the New Champions, which convened under the theme “Charting a New Course for Growth” last month in Dalian, China’s northeast coastal city.

Representing the company was chief technology officer Ahmad Khowaiter. During his participation in a set of both public and private forum sessions topics such as transformational technologies, digital disruption, economic divergence, regional rebalancing and environmental boundaries were covered. Khowaiter reiterated Saudi Aramco’s focus on a new generation of leaders and the commitment to technology driven innovation.

Driving Innovation

Joining the session “The Innovation Playbook” as a panelist, on a topic addressing how innovative businesses maintain their edge, Khowaiter asserted that the leadership of any company and organization should always be mindful of innovative approaches and have the courage to break down barriers in order for traditional organizations to embrace innovations and innovative ideas.

“A company’s leaders have to keep a watchful eye concerning what’s going on out there that might disrupt your industry or pose a real competitive threat,” said Khowaiter. “In 2011 when Saudi Aramco started the Accelerated Transformation Program (ATP), we were in a comfortable financial position. Typically, companies in such a position don’t want to make a change. But our company leadership decided that was the best time to make the transformation because we had abundant resources to do it and had more room to maneuver.”

Al Khowaiter then shared two examples of ATP initiatives highlighting Saudi Aramco’s investment in young leaders and in technology and innovation.

“As a large oil company, we have to find ways to stay agile,” noted Khowaiter. “We estimate that by 2020, the majority of Saudi Aramco’s workforce will be the millennials; that is people born around 1980.” With this influx of young employees, new ways are needed to engage them in shaping the company’s future, he said.

Transforming For The Future

A Young Leaders Advisory Board (YLAB) has been established to allow Saudi Aramco’s young employees’ to take part in solving problems using innovative approaches such as social tools and social networks. “It’s really a more agile platform for seeking good ideas from our employees. There are many areas where they have contributed,” said Khowaiter.

He then shared how Saudi Aramco has fully realized the importance of Research and Development (R&D) under the ATP. “Instead of treating new technology and innovation as disruptive factors to the core business, Saudi Aramco has leveraged its resource and investment in this field to serve its traditional business and explore future business opportunities,” said Al Khowaiter. “Bold steps have been taken to expand our R&D capabilities, portfolio and global presence to support Aramco’s aspirations,” he added.

Also known as the “Summer Davos,” the WEF Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC) is rotationally held at Tianjin and Dalian in China. This year more than 1,700 participants from 90 countries took part.

Saudi Aramco recently hosted a two-day forum in the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai to boost investment in the Kingdom, planning to promote the three newly developed industrial platforms of Jazan Economic City, Al-Hasa Energy Industrial City and Ras Al-Khair Industrial City.

Under the theme of “Building the belt and road together, connect with opportunities in Saudi Arabia,” the forum was intended to inform Chinese manufacturers and investors of the sustained investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia and explore closer partnerships in the energy sector.

The forum gathered more than 150 participants, including officials and professionals from Saudi Aramco and Aramco Asia, policymakers from China, as well as representatives from 60 local companies.

“Chinese investment is welcome in Saudi Arabia, and there are plenty of opportunities for Chinese companies in the country, in both energy and non-energy sectors,” Nabil A. Al-Nuaim, president of Aramco Asia, said in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony. “There have been successful investments by Chinese partners in Saudi Arabia. Sinopec invested in a world-class, full conversion export refinery located on the west coast city of Yanbu’ by the name of Yasref. We stand ready to promote economic cooperation.”

Kingdom Offers Opportunities

Apart from Sinopec, some of the Chinese businesses, either public or private, such as Huawei, China Railway Construction, China Habour and SANY, have also made headway in these and other attractive investment opportunities.

Also in his speech, Al-Nuaim outlined a list of advantages the Kingdom enjoyed, including the strategic location, history and the role as China’s largest and most reliable energy supplier.

Echoing Al-Nuaim’s remarks, He Zhengrong, director-general of the Department of Commerce of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, noted that the region had made a tremendous contribution to the building of a new type of Sino-Arab ties under the Belt-Road initiative, thanks to the large number of the Chinese Muslim population, the Huis.

As a global enterprise, Saudi Aramco embraces the Belt-Road initiative and would like to leverage this vision to link China with Saudi Arabia. The message at the forum was clear: The potential is huge and Chinese investors are welcome to seize the great opportunities of sustained economic growth and sustained demand for manufacturing and services.

Industrial Cities Connect to World

Abdulatif Al-Abdulhadi, director of the Jazan Economic City Development Department, briefed the audiences about the lucrative opportunities in the city. Covering an area of 106 square kilometers, it is strategically located along an important sea route connecting the major continents of Europe, East Africa and Asia. Six industrial sectors of electromechanical equipment, heavy industries, consumer durables, automotive, food processing and other industries such as pharmaceuticals and packaging and 12 sub-sectors have been identified as attractive opportunities.

Adeel Akhter, division head of the Energy Industrial City Development Department, introduced The Energy Industrial City and Ras al-Khair Industrial City to the participants. Both of these cities support the Kingdom’s diversification drive and promise to bring a handsome return to investors.

Over the course of the forum, there were presentations, a showcase of previous Chinese investors, questions and answers, and a one-to-one session to examine the investment possibilities in the Kingdom. The two sides also expressed a willingness to carry on the discussion and continue the momentum for future years.

Saudi Saudi Aramco had an exceptionally strong showing at last week’s Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) — the flagship event of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

The company participated in wide-ranging technical presentations and our contributions to SPE and its mission were recognized with several prestigious SPE awards and recognitions.

This year’s conference witnessed much energy and debate among attendees, beginning with a lively discussion at the opening session titled “2040: The Journey and the Destination — Diverse Perspectives”, with panelists speaking about the industry’s strength and resilience in the face of a cyclical market downturn.

Oil and gas professionals are indeed a tenacious group, the panelists noted. “This is the time when we do our best work. We adapt, strengthen, and innovate our way right through these challenges”, said 2015 SPE president and Statoil executive Helge Hove Haldorsen.

Panelists agreed that these surges of creative genius — formed out of necessity — have shown over time to fundamentally change the industry for the better.

Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal

Amin H. Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco, was honored with the Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal. The medal, which is given by The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, recognizes an individual for distinguished achievement in mining administration, including metallurgy and petroleum. Recipients of this top honor are automatically elected as a Distinguished Member of SPE.

Accepting the award for Nasser was Khaled A. Al Buraik, vice president of Saudi Aramco Petroleum Engineering and Development, who said that he was privileged to represent Nasser. Al-Buraik currently serves as a director at-large for SPE International.

SPE Distinguished Membership Award

This honor is given to SPE members who have attained eminence in the petroleum industry, the academic world, or who have made significant contributions to SPE.

A long-standing member, Zainalabedin’s regional and international contributions to SPE have benefited the industry. In particular, he has reached out to young professionals in the field, helping them advance their skill and knowledge, and attain certification through SPE. He has been actively involved in the SPE Saudi Arabia Section (SPE-SAS), serving as section chairman, treasurer and secretary; and overseeing its program and membership committees.

Young Member Outstanding Service Award

This award recognizes contributions to, and leadership in, the community, as well as SPE, the profession, and the industry, by a member under age 36.

Al-Tahan has been extensively involved in SPE, serving as the young professional vice chairman, publication officer, and chairman of the SPE-SAS. In 2011, he won the Regional Young Member Outstanding Service Award. He has also served on multiple technical committees to support SPE conferences in the Middle East.

President’s Award for Section Excellence

A President’s Award for Section Excellence was presented to Bandar A. Al-Khamies, 2014–2015 chairman of the SPE Saudi Arabia Section and YLAB coordinator at Saudi Aramco.

“We are very proud to have received this international and prestigious recognition,” Al-Khamies said, adding that it commemorates the many dedicated volunteers who worked hard so the section could achieve such success.

“Century Club” Status

Members of the Saudi section also earned “Century Club” status for outstanding SPE recruitment: Suliman M. Azzouni, Sulaiman Alhassan Al Majdi, Ahmad Mohammad Alabduljabbar, and Ali Mousa. The section added 1,900 new members between June 2014 and June 2015.

What happens when you take 47 women from at least 18 various nations, mix in their speeches of five to seven minutes in length, and stir in their leadership projects? You have a formula for a Toastmasters club of extraordinarily high caliber — one that has achieved the President’s Distinguished Club award within one year of its inception led by a newly cast Distinguished Toastmaster and president Akanke Abdul-Khaaliq. And to top it off, the Dhahran Women’s Toastmasters Club’s (DWTC) membership was active for only 10 months of its one-year cycle.

The (DWTC) held its first annual year-end event at Al Khaleej Hall in Dhahran.

While guests arrived and mingled, sergeant-at-arms Sadia Jamil (who was awarded the Advanced Leadership Bronze certificate and Toastmaster of the year) opened the program. The varied program, emceed in the first part by Magda Daifi and Sayeeda Waheed, was designed to echo a mosaic, with an assortment of short presentations and speeches. Before the break, the audience heard inspirational messages from Nuha Hashem, vice president at education and president-elect, Akanke Abdul-Khaaliq, Distinguished Toastmaster and president, and Bilquis Ahmed, all of whom shared insight into the achievements of the club.

The event included the DWTC’s District Awards, which were presented by Dr. Soliman Almadi, Division M governor, and included two congratulatory video messages from Joey Villanueva, District 79 governor and Distinguished Toastmaster, and his wife, Maria Teresa Olarte-Villanueva, also a Distinguished Toastmaster.

After the break, Tirina Amabeoku, newly elected sergeant at arms, opened the next portion of the program. Abdul-Khaaliq and Hashem presented member education awards, acknowledging the hard work put in by individual members who earned their Competent Communicator and Competent Leadership certificates.

The audience was treated to an impromptu speaking challenge (known as table topics in Toastmasters lingo) hosted by Priya Abraham, who prepared various questions on the topic of “journeys.” Several adults and youth volunteered responses to these questions, with 12-year-old Yahya Kharbat and 9-year-old Zoya Waheed receiving standing ovations for their responses. Additionally, Daifi and Karla Freiheit introduced each of their High Performance Leadership projects of publishing a book of memorable DWTC speeches and A Mosaic of Journeys art project.

Next, Samantha Horseman, guest of honor, administrator of wellcare (Preventive Medicine) at JHAH, and president of the Institute for Health & Productivity Management, shared her thoughts on the role wellness plays in the lives of women. This served as a cogent reminder to lead healthy lifestyles to have the energy needed to be active members of our respective clubs.

Sprinkled throughout the second part of the program, Samantha Jackson presented door prizes. Some audience members were lucky enough to find a special sticker at their seat, and upon claiming their prizes, they were invited to share their thoughts in an impromptu speaking moment. These gifts were just one small gesture to the about 70 guests, many of whom were family and friends, acknowledging the roles they play in the success of club members.

This second part of the program also included a presentation of special awards, created by DWTC as a fun way to recognize achievement, and the “Handing Over the Gavel” ceremony conducted by Mazen Al Sadat, Area 20 governor. Abdul-Khaaliq and Hashem closed the program with their moving final remarks about their experiences with starting the club, chartered on June 30, 2014.

As the saying goes, many hands make light work. The “hands” that contributed to “A Mosaic of Journeys” and acknowledged by Toastmaster Najat Abu-Haliqa in her heartfelt Expression of Thanks, are too many to list here. All contributions from behind the scenes made this first annual year-end celebration a grand success, which is a testament to the vitality and strength of the Dhahran Women’s Toastmasters Club and all of its cherished members.

A team of Aramco engineers, scientists and researchers highlighted the company’s exploration and production accomplishments at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) that continue to bolster the company’s strong recovery rates — some of the highest in the industry.

The company gave nearly 20 presentations during the show’s technical program and within the Saudi Aramco exhibit booth. Taken together, they painted a picture of progress and innovation that is optimizing reservoir performance while protecting the environment.

New technologies — including those used to enhance subsurface imaging and well production — are emerging and capturing industry attention. The company is focused on bringing geophysics closer to the reservoir to improve data fidelity and resolution.

Papers presented during ATCE included “Water Content Effects on Dynamic Elastic Properties of Organic-rich Shale” representing work from the Aramco Research Center–Houston in collaboration with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The paper addressed water content or saturation as a key parameter in determining the strength of shales.

Also among the presentations were: “Proving the Concept of Unconventional Gas Reservoirs in Saudi Arabia through Multistage Fractured Wells,” “Automated Workflow for Real-Time Reservoir Management in a Large Carbonate Field,” “New Insights about Acid Fracture Conductivity at Laboratory Scale,” and “Dynamic Water Injection Profiling in Intelligent Wells Using Distributed Acoustic Sensor with Multimode Optical Fibers.”.

Additionally, the company participated in the SPE workshop series, providing a class on how to write a good technical paper.

Presentations at the exhibit booth highlighted our R&D centers, showcasing research advancements in the upstream and downstream sectors.

During the expo, Saudi Aramco and Aramco Services Co. representatives met with visitors interested in learning more about the company’s technology advances, job openings, and business opportunities.

SPE rotates this conference yearly between the Americas and other international regions, drawing participants from about 70 countries. Next year’s SPE ATCE will be held in Dubai.

Saudi Aramco’s Traffic Safety Signature Program (TSSP) and the University of Dammam recently conducted a signing ceremony for the renewal of the agreement of Saudi Aramco Chair for Traffic Safety at the university.

The event was attended by HE Dr. Abdullah Al Rubaish, Rector of the University of Dammam; Bader F. Al Qadran, Saudi Aramco executive director of Safety and Industrial Security; Khalid A. Al Mazroa, director of Eastern Province Traffic Police; Sultan H. Al Zahrani, TSSP director; Saad Al Sayari, general director of the Eastern Province Ministry of Transport; Imad Al Sahan, director of Designs and Studies in the Eastern Province Municipality; and Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Sulieman, vice president of Research & Higher Studies at the university.

Also attending were members from various government sectors, as well as representatives from Saudi Aramco.

A Partnership for Safety

Al Rubaish, who opened the event by welcoming attendees, said he appreciated the partnership between Saudi Aramco and the university in the field of Traffic Safety Enhancement in the Kingdom, generally, and in the Eastern Province in particular.

Al Qadran emphasized the importance of the contribution of all concerned parties to implement the studies and research of the Chair. He added that the Chair effort should focus on producing studies and projects that can be effectively implemented for the sake of traffic safety enhancement.

Looking Back at Accomplishments, Looking Forward to New Programs

Dr. Abdul Hameed Al Moajel, supervisor of the Chair, presented an overview of the partnership between Saudi Aramco and the University of Dammam, including the accomplishments of the previous three years and the proposed projects and programs for the next three years.

Among the accomplishments are six studies and projects on the following:

• Two-part study on seat belt restraint use in the Eastern Province
• An assessment of Security Police Personnel in regard to field work and its effects on security personnel in the Eastern Province
• In-depth crash investigation and analysis
• An 11-part study on the two corridors of the Abu Hadriyah/GCC and King Fahd highways
• Crash data analysis and red light camera evaluation for the Dammam metro
• Creation of a traffic crash investigation book
• Establishment of a B.Sc. program in Transportation
• Supervised one M.Sc. and 17 B.Sc. student research projects
• Established traffic safety online library
• Organized two lectures on STARS software for traffic accident reconstruction simulation and traffic management in major cities
• The Chair offered eight workshops
• An international conference that included three papers published in the conference book and eight papers under review.

A technical committee will be formed in the near future with the involved parties to agree on the proposed projects and programs for the next three years. The new agreement will take effect in January 2016 and last for three years.

The President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, Amin H. Nasser, together with the chief executive officers of 9 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies – which together provide almost a fifth of all oil and gas production and supply over 10% of the world’s energy – met together in Paris to declare their collective support for an effective climate change agreement to be reached at the upcoming UN Conference on Climate Change (COP21).

In the milestone collaborative declaration of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), the CEOs of the 10 member companies agreed to collaborate in a number of areas and to strengthen their actions and investments, and to play their part in reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of the energy sector. The 10 member companies are Saudi Aramco, BG Group, BP, Eni, Pemex, Reliance, Repsol, Shell, Statoil and Total.

Speaking in Paris, Amin H. Nasser said: “As our track record shows, Saudi Aramco is committed to playing its part. Energy efficiency has been and will continue to be a top priority in everything we do to both benefit the Kingdom and to maintain our position as the world’s largest, most reliable oil and gas producer.”

“We believe that partnerships and collaboration are essential to address global challenges. We are therefore proud to be a founding member of the OGCI, which helps to put the oil and gas industry at the forefront of solutions to climate change and help demonstrate that a technology-driven, industry-enabled approach is the only viable way forward.”

The OGCI also today launched its collaborative report titled “More Energy, Lower Emissions.” This report highlights practical actions taken by member companies, including Saudi Aramco, to improve greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management and work toward reducing the climate change impacts of the industry. These actions include significant investments in natural gas, carbon capture and storage, and renewable energy, as well as low-GHG research and development.

Saudi Aramco’s environmental protection policy was established in 1963 and the company’s comprehensive Energy Management Program is designed to both promote energy efficiency at the national level as well as continuously improve the efficiency of company facilities, by replacing older, lower efficiency power plants with new, higher technology and higher efficiency plants. This approach will also help drive significant fuel savings in the utility sector. In addition, the company supports the Saudi Energy Efficiency Program that aims to improve the efficiency of energy use in residential and commercial settings, in addition to industry and transportation.

Innovation and advanced technology are critical to Saudi Aramco’s strategy and examples of energy efficiency practices and technologies include:

• Gas flaring – Saudi Aramco’s total flared gas is industry-leading at less than 1%.
• Zero discharge technology – In 2014 Saudi Aramco deployed zero discharge technology at 432 well sites to enhance oil and gas recovery, enabling the recovery of 7.6bln scf of gas and 415,000 barrels of oil.
• Cleaner fuels and fuel efficiency – Saudi Aramco has a range of advanced Research & Development projects underway, including with auto manufacturers, on fuel and engine efficiency to increase the mileage efficiency of vehicles and to reduce pollutant emissions of future engines.
• Carbon Capture and Storage – in July 2015 Saudi Aramco launched Saudi Arabia’s first CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery pilot project at the Uthmaniyah field and Hawiyah facilities. The project will inject 800,000 tons of CO2 every year. In addition, the company has invested in technology start-ups, including Novomer, which develops catalysts capable of efficiently and profitably converting CO2 into valuable products, such as polyurethanes.
• Renewables – Saudi Aramco is considering 300MW of wind and solar projects to replace liquid fuels in power generation, and a wind power feasibility study is underway for bulk plants.

About the OGCI:

The OGCI is a CEO-led, voluntary, oil and gas industry initiative that aims to catalyse practical action on climate change through best practice sharing and collaboration. The OGCI was established following discussions held during the January 2014 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos and was officially launched by HE Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Aramco Chairman, at the September 2014 UN Climate Summit. To see the declaration, report and information on OGCI, please visit: www.oilandgasclimateinitiative.com

CEOs present at the event include: Helge Lund, BG Group; Bob Dudley, BP; Claudio Descalzi, Eni; Emilio Lozoya, Pemex; Josu Jon Imaz, Repsol; Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco; Eldar Sætre, Statoil; and Patrick Pouyanné, Total. (OGCI member CEOs not pictured: Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries; Ben van Beurden, Royal Dutch Shell)

The chief executive officers of 10 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies – which together provide almost a fifth of all oil and gas production and supply nearly 10% of the world’s energy – today declared their collective support for an effective climate change agreement to be reached at next month’s 21st session of the United Nations (UN) Conference of Parties to the UN Framework on Climate Change (COP21).

In their milestone declaration, the CEOs of the 10 companies that currently make up the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) – BG Group, BP, Eni, Pemex, Reliance Industries, Repsol, Saudi Aramco, Shell, Statoil and Total – confirmed that they­ recognise the general ambition to limit global average temperature rise to 2 degrees centigrade and that the existing trend of the world’s net global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is not consistent with this ambition.

The OGCI member companies have taken significant actions to reduce their GHG footprint, with combined GHG emissions from their operations reducing by around 20% over the past 10 years.

In their declaration the 10 CEOs said:

“Our shared ambition is for a 2°C future. It is a challenge for the whole of society. We are committed to playing our part. Over the coming years we will collectively strengthen our actions and investments to contribute to reducing the GHG intensity of the global energy mix. Our companies will collaborate in a number of areas, with the aim of going beyond the sum of our individual efforts.”

(Helge Lund, BG Group; Bob Dudley, BP; Claudio Descalzi, Eni; Emilio Lozoya, Pemex; Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries; Josu Jon Imaz, Repsol; Ben van Beurden, Royal Dutch Shell; Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco; Eldar Sætre, Statoil; and Patrick Pouyanné, Total.)

The OGCI also today launched its collaborative report – ‘More energy, lower emissions’ – highlighting practical actions taken by member companies to improve GHG emissions management and work towards improving climate change impacts in the longer term. These actions include significant investments in natural gas, carbon capture and storage, and renewable energy, as well as low-GHG research and development.

Together the declaration and report set out key areas where the OGCI companies will focus their collaboration, including:

• Efficiency: optimising efficiency of their own operations; improving the end-use efficiency of their fuels and other products; and working with manufacturers and consumers to improve the efficiency of road vehicles.
• Natural gas: contributing to increasing the share of gas in the global energy mix, ensuring it results in significantly lower lifecycle emissions than other fossil fuels for power generation; eliminating ‘routine’ flaring and reducing methane emissions from their operations.
• Long-term solutions: investing in R&D and innovation to reduce GHG emissions; participating in partnerships to progress carbon capture and storage; contributing to increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix.
• Energy access: developing projects to provide people with access to energy in partnership with local and national authorities and other stakeholders.
• Partnerships and multi-stakeholder initiatives: seeking opportunities to accelerate climate change solutions by working collectively or individually in industry and other initiatives.

The OGCI is a CEO-led, voluntary, oil and gas industry initiative that aims to catalyse practical action on climate change through best practice sharing and collaboration.

The OGCI was established following discussions held during the January 2014 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and was officially launched at the September 2014 UN Climate Summit.

For the declaration, report and information: www.oilandgasclimateinitiative.com

As part of Saudi Aramco’s commitment to shaping a greener energy future, the company was proud to be principal sponsor of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) 2015 Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) Engine Symposium recently held in Capri, Italy.

The event brought together engineers, researchers, car manufacturers, regulators, and fuel manufacturers to present the latest breakthroughs on engine and combustion technology, as well as provide a forum in which to work together to bring this sustainable transportation solution to life.

A pavilion was manned by members of the Saudi Aramco Research and Development Center (R&DC) who engaged with the many engineers and researchers present, providing them with information on the latest breakthroughs on engine and combustion research, as well as with our conference brochure detailing future transportation trends, and our work on GCI and other sustainable transportation developments.

Aramco was also well represented in the technical sessions. Gautam Kalghatgi, principal professional at our reseach center, presented “Fuel Implications for Gasoline Compression Ignition Engines.” Steve Przesmitzki, transportation analysis team leader at the Aramco Research Center-Detroit, also presented “Gasoline Compression Ignition Technology Enabling a Sustainable Mobility Solution” to a receptive audience. Both presentations stimulated discussion among attendees in the conference hall.

The symposium closed with “The Way Forward Panel Discussion” in which Amer Amer, chief technologist in Aramco’s Fuel Technology Division, took part. The panel discussed the future challenges and solutions for GCI engine technology.

Road transport alone contributes about a fifth of the European Union’s total emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, with various projections suggesting that in the coming decades the worldwide demand for transport fuels will significantly increase.

Engines based on GCI technology offers an opportunity to reduce these emissions. They are like today’s diesel engines but will run on low octane gasoline. Current diesel engines are efficient but expensive and complicated because they try to reduce NOx and soot emissions, which are of increasing concern, while using conventional diesel fuels which ignite very easily. Low-octane gasoline with high ignition delay makes low-NOx/low soot combustion much easier. Moreover, such fuels will need much less processing in the refinery compared to today’s diesel or gasoline fuel.

The advantages of the GCI concept are:

• The engine will be at least as efficient and clean as current diesel engines but will be less complicated and therefore cheaper
• The optimum fuel will be less processed and therefore will require less energy to make compared to current gasoline or diesel fuels
• It provides a path to mitigate the global demand imbalance between heavier and lighter fuels that is otherwise projected.

Saudi Aramco is actively involved in fuel, engine and combustion research at all levels. Saudi Aramco established the Clean Combustion Research Center at KAUST in Thuwal, focusing on fundamental fuels and combustion research. The center provides world-class research facilities and brings world-renowned talent together to develop and propagate fundamental knowledge crucial for clean fuel combustion.

The company has also conducted fuels and engine research in Dhahran for many years. Recently, Aramco established a research center in Detroit dedicated to developing advanced fuels and engine technologies. The company also opened a fuel research center in Paris in 2013.

Manufacturers are planning to start producing demonstrator GCI engine vehicles in 2018. Introduction on a larger scale to the market will follow but is likely to take place several years later.