Aramco to Launch 65 New Projects in 2023

Future Projects Forum in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Future Projects Forum in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Aramco to Launch 65 New Projects in 2023

Future Projects Forum in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Future Projects Forum in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Major government and private entities reviewed their future projects worth billions of dollars to allow contractors to benefit from their implementation, coinciding with the 4th edition of the Future Projects Forum in Riyadh.

The Saudi Contractors Authority, in partnership with several public and private entities, launched the Forum on Sunday, showcasing nearly 3,000 projects worth $213 billion.

The participating agencies disclosed projects for more than 13 government agencies and the private sector, including five ministries.

The Authority signed ten memoranda of understanding (MoU) with several agencies, and the winners were crowned with Excellence Awards.

Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) announced it will launch 55 new projects in 2023 and ten other gas and oil projects.

Aramco will also launch 30 digital solutions that manage more than 100 indicators, with its plan to launch 24 other technical solutions to meet the increased demand during the next three years.

Aramco explained that it is adopting high-level technical solutions to increase its growth globally, as it has provided more than 160 technical solutions in its projects, indicating that it employs its capabilities to launch huge technical applications.

Aramco's Project Management has launched 14 applications to manage more than 160 jobs with more than 3,000 employees.

Meanwhile, the major corporations of the Saudi oil, gas, chemical, and iron industries confirmed their growth, noting that they will transfer the challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic into real opportunities.

Representatives of the sectors highlighted the requirements of the contracting industry to achieve Vision 2030 projects and the primary impulse of many vital industries.

The Saudi Ministry of Energy participated in the Forum by presenting executive plans in developing renewable energy projects and its most prominent achievements to enable its promising sector in the next stage.

The Ministry indicated that it is about to launch new projects at the beginning of 2023, revealing many initiatives to localize and enable renewable energy opportunities.

The ministry is implementing its plans under Vision 2030 while working to develop its digital tools and solutions. It also stressed the need to stimulate sustainable development of renewable and green energy and green hydrogen.

Saudi SABIC stated that it generates 150 new products annually and world-class processing technologies worldwide, revealing it has over 66 facilities and more than 10,000 inventions and applications.

SABIC explained that its assets amount to $85 billion, making it the second-best brand in the industry globally.

Several memoranda of understanding were signed between the Saudi Contractors Authority and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology on the sidelines of the Forum



Oil Rises on Upbeat China Data, Shaky Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE - Pump jacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., April 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - Pump jacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., April 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
TT

Oil Rises on Upbeat China Data, Shaky Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE - Pump jacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., April 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - Pump jacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M., April 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Oil prices rose on Monday, supported by strong factory activity in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, and heightened tensions in the Middle East as Israel resumed attacks on Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement.
Brent crude futures climbed 57 cents, or 0.79%, to $72.41 a barrel by 0700 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $68.58 a barrel, up 58 cents, or 0.85%.
"Oil prices have managed to stabilize into the new week, with the continued expansion in China's manufacturing activities reflecting some degree of policy success from recent stimulus efforts," said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
This offered slight relief that oil demand from China may hold for now, he added.
A private-sector survey showed China's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in five months in November, boosting Chinese firms' optimism just as US President-elect Donald Trump ramps up his trade threats.
Still, traders are eyeing developments in Syria, weighing if they could widen tension across the Middle East, Yeap said.
A truce between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Wednesday, but each side accused the other of breaching the ceasefire.
In a statement, the Lebanese health ministry said several people were wounded in two Israeli strikes in south Lebanon. Air strikes also intensified in Syria, as President Bashar al-Assad vowed to crush insurgents who had swept into the city of Aleppo.
Last week, both benchmarks suffered a weekly decline of more than 3%, on easing concerns over supply risks from the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and forecasts of surplus supply in 2025, even as OPEC+ is expected to extend output cuts.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, postponed its meeting to Dec. 5, sources told Reuters last week.
This week's meeting will decide policy for the early months of 2025.
Since the group's production hike had been widely expected, the market's focus may be on the extent of delay to sway crude prices, said IG's Yeap.
"An indefinite delay may be the best case for oil prices, given that earlier rounds of delays by a month or so have failed to drive higher oil prices in line with what OPEC+ intended."
Brent is expected to average $74.53 per barrel in 2025 as economic weakness in China clouds the demand picture and ample global supplies outweigh support from an expected delay to a planned OPEC+ output hike, a Reuters monthly oil price poll showed on Friday.
That is the seventh straight downward revision in the 2025 consensus for the global benchmark, which has averaged $80 per barrel so far in 2024.