The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) have signed an agreement to explore collaboration in research and development and a student-Adnoc graduates exchange programme.

The agreement was signed by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group CEO, and Dr Sahel Abdujauwad, Rector of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

As part of Adnoc’s strategy to unlock and drive substantial value across its entire business, Adnoc and KFUPM will collaborate in research and development topics of strategic importance to Adnoc – such as Enhanced Oil Recovery, field development optimization, and oil and gas processing further downstream – which can increase the performance and returns on Adnoc’s assets and capital.

The agreement also establishes a mechanism that will allow Adnoc employees to undertake post-graduate education in key oil and gas degrees, courses and trainings at KFUPM to enable them to gain valuable exposure and harness their talent and creativity.
    
Dr Sultan said: “Adnoc continues to invest in innovative partnerships that enhance our research and development capabilities and the education and training of our greatest asset – our people – who are vital to the future success and prosperity of the UAE, Abu Dhabi and Adnoc.

“This proposed collaboration aligns with Adnoc’s strategy to engage with stakeholders who can deploy world-class capabilities for our mutual benefit and enable the development and sustainable implementation of our integrated strategy. It is also a further strengthening of the common strategies and close relationship between Saudi Arabia and UAE.”

Dr Abdujauwad said: “KFUPM is considered a leading organization for science and technology in the region. Since its inception, it has focused on the different fields of energy and it has built an eco-system within which it has established a science park with multi-national research centres in upstream oil and gas.”

“It has also built a strong international partnership with many leading institutions and continued to extend the collaboration with institutions in the Gulf area. This initiative is one of the practical manifestations of the strategic partnership between the University and Adnoc.

“The University is interested in developing and activating strong technical partnerships with major companies, not only in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also in GCC countries.

“This agreement demonstrates a mutually beneficial, reciprocal and cooperative research and education partnership, in which the University represents a rich supplier of advanced research and educational experience, and benefits from the companies’ latest technical developments to develop its curricula and courses and to enhance the knowledge of its faculty and researchers, in addition to providing professional development education for the companies' employees,” he added.

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals is a leading educational organization for science and technology in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It was established in 1963, and, since then, enrolment in the University has grown to more than 8,000 students pursuing bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in different disciplines. The University has strong international partnerships with many leading institutions in the Gulf region and beyond.

Adnoc fosters collaborations with various reputable universities, both domestically and globally, to drive innovation and advance technologies critical to unlocking enhanced value from its operations.

Adnoc is a major diversified group of energy and petrochemical companies that produces about 3 million barrels of oil and 10.5 billion cubic feet of raw gas a day. Its integrated upstream, midstream and downstream activities are carried out by 14 specialist subsidiary and joint venture companies. – TradeArabia News Service