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Aramco Calls for the Implementation of 4.0 Industrial Revolution

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Saudi Aramco logo
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Aramco Calls for the Implementation of 4.0 Industrial Revolution

Saudi Aramco logo
Saudi Aramco logo

Saudi Aramco encouraged representatives of the oil and gas industries to press ahead with implementing Fourth Industrial Revolution (4.0) technologies, during its participation at the 2019 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC).

Speaking at a panel titled “How is the industry embracing digital innovation?” on the industry’s digital transformation and the latest trends in technology, Aramco’s Senior VP of Operations and Business Services Muhammad al-Saggaf, discussed the company’s research and development (R&D).

He also addressed the deployment of the TeraPOWERS technology, which models reservoir physics from the original generation to final production. This technology enables Aramco to model the physics of its reservoirs to prioritize prospects, reduce exploration risks and costs, and manage its reservoirs.

Senior Vice President of Downstream Abdulaziz al-Judaimi will participate on Wednesday in panel “Downstream 4.0: Refining and Petrochemicals, Growth Through Innovation and Digitization,” on new strategies around digital, people and business partnership.

He is expected to shed light o the opportunities presented by 4th Industrial Revolution technologies and reaffirm Aramco’s commitment to continue developing, harnessing, and fully utilizing the emergent technologies for value creation.

World Economic Forum (WEF) recognized Aramco’s efforts in the energy sector’s 4.0 transformation in September 2018 when the company’s Othmaniyah Gas Plant was named one of the Fourth Industrial Revolution 4.0 “lighthouses”.

Aramco is the first energy company globally to be included in this group of 16 manufacturing sites selected from an initial list of 1,000 manufacturers from around the world.

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Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
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Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)

Syria's new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose industrial-scale production flourished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Captagon is a banned amphetamine-like stimulant that became Syria's largest export during the country's more than 13-year civil war, effectively turning it into a narco state under Assad.

"We found a large quantity of captagon, around one million pills," said a balaclava-wearing member of the security forces, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Osama, and whose khaki uniform bore a "public security" patch.

An AFP journalist saw forces pour fuel over and set fire to a cache of cannabis, the painkiller tramadol, and around 50 bags of pink and yellow captagon pills in a security compound formerly belonging to Assad's forces in the capital's Kafr Sousa district.

Captagon has flooded the black market across the region in recent years.

"The security forces of the new government discovered a drug warehouse as they were inspecting the security quarter," said another member of the security forces, who identified himself as Hamza.

Authorities destroyed the stocks of alcohol, cannabis, captagon and hashish in order to "protect Syrian society" and "cut off smuggling routes used by Assad family businesses", he added.

- Manufacturing sites -

Since an opposition alliance toppled Assad on December 8 after a lightning offensive, Syria's new authorities have said massive quantities of captagon have been found in former government sites around the country, including security branches.

AFP journalists in Syria have seen fighters from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group set fire to what they said were stashes of captagon found at facilities once operated by Assad's forces.

Security force member Hamza confirmed Wednesday that "this is not the first initiative of its kind -- the security services, in a number of locations, have found other warehouses... and drug manufacturing sites and destroyed them in the appropriate manner".

Maher al-Assad, a military commander and the brother of Bashar al-Assad, is widely accused of being the power behind the lucrative captagon trade.

Experts believe Syria's former leader used the threat of drug-fueled unrest to put pressure on Arab governments.

Jordan in recent years has cracked down on the smuggling of weapons and drugs including captagon along its 375-kilometer (230-mile) border with Syria.