Saudi Aramco has broken ground on its brand new research centre, at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust), which is expected to be completed in mid-2019.

The new centre will be an 11,300-sq-m research facility, housing 132 scientists and researchers, aimed at supporting Saudi Aramco’s upstream and downstream research domains as well as environmental protection research efforts.

The objective is to integrate the new facility with the university community and foster strong networks with other leading research and development (R&D) organisations focused on solar energy, chemicals, fuel technology, robotics, hydrocarbon recovery, computational modeling and the marine environment.

The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Ali I. Al Naimi, former Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and chairman of Kaust board of trustees; Amin H Nasser, the president and CEO of Saudi Aramco; Professor Jean-Lou Chameau, Kaust President; and several government, academic and business dignitaries.

Speaking at the launch, Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources and chairman of Saudi Aramco and vice-chairman of Kaust board of trustees, said: "Both Aramco and the university are leaders in technology development domestically and internationally. Their unique roles in developing innovative and original research is essential to the future success of the energy industry in Saudi Arabia."

"Their future joint research and development efforts, through collaboration and partnership, will help achieve the kingdom’s strategic energy objectives and create business value in pursuit of the national objective of transition to a knowledge society, as enunciated in Vision 2030," he stated.

“The ground-breaking marks a major milestone in the successful partnership between Saudi Aramco and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology, for the benefit of the nation as a whole,” said Nasser.

“Our relationship started when Kaust was just an idea and today, it has grown, literally from the ground up. A number of highly promising technologies have been produced here, such as the Saudi Aramco inspection robots, and research here has contributed to many patents,” he noted.

The facility will allow Saudi Aramco to leverage its unique position within the R&D ecosystem at Kaust to accelerate the implementation of the company’s technology strategy.

The facility will include laboratories and offices to support research in the areas of chemicals, intelligent systems, solar energy, reservoir engineering, computational modeling, and environmental protection.

“At Kaust, we are committed to advancing science, innovation and technology through distinctive and collaborative research, which relies upon the nurturing of ideas and talent,” said its president Jean-Lou Chameau.

“Partnering with Saudi Aramco on this new centre is the latest of a series of shared successes to foster the transition to an innovation-driven economy sustained by intellectual capital and scientific discovery,” he noted.

Saudi Aramco chief technology officer Ahmad Khowaiter said the new facility was about expanding its research needs as a business.

"As part of our new technology strategy, we are looking to enable our research domains through capitalising on the world-renowned scientists, exceptional facilities, and international network of academic institutions affiliated with Kaust," he added.-TradeArabia News Service