Oil and gas giant, Saudi Aramco, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with STC and Huawei to compile a series of 5G use cases that will help to expedite digitalisation in the oil and gas sector.
The companies will launch a joint innovation programme for 5G technology and applications development in the oil and gas sector, according to reports in the regional press.
ALSO IN THE NEWS: Google, Aramco eye Saudi Arabia’s $10 billion cloud market
“We recognise 5G is a major enabling technology for digital transformation. Therefore, we will continue to collaborate with local service providers and their partners to co-innovate and develop solutions for new digital use cases and pilot them over 5G networks at our facilities,” said Aramco Technical Services Senior Vice-President, Ahmad Al Sa’adi.
Although not fully operational today, it still holds particular significance, being Saudi Arabia’s first well to maintain large-scale oil production – being where it all started.
Here's the story.#Saudi_Aramco#Energy_opportunities pic.twitter.com/NzlTq8RUoE
— أرامكو (@Saudi_Aramco) March 4, 2018
Saudi Arabia has placed the digitalisation of its oil and gas sector at the heart of its Vision 2030 strategy. As part of the agreement, Aramco, STC and Huawei will explore use cases that harness the power of edge computing, 5G slicing and industrial scale IoT.
“Saudi Arabia has entered the acceleration phase of 5G commercialisation. In this era of Internet of Everything, 5G networks, thanks to their high speeds, massive connection capabilities and low latency, will become engines of rapid development across industries. Through joint efforts with Aramco, STC, as a trusted digital enabler in the region, will fully leverage the advantages of 5G, AI, and cloud-network synergy to promote innovation and digital transformation, creating new value for the oil and gas industry,” said STC VP of Business Development, Dr Sultan Bin Saeed.
News of the collaboration comes just a few weeks after Saudi Aramco and STC announced the launch of their new supercomputer, Dammam 7. Dammam 7 is officially among the top ten most powerful computers in the world.
Aramco’s new supercomputer boasts an incredible 55.4 petaflops of peak computing power, allowing it to process and image the world’s largest geophysical datasets.
“The Dammam 7 supercomputer is named after the first commercial oil well discovered in 1938. It will help us with breakthroughs as part of our long term “Discovery and Recovery” strategy in our Upstream business. This technology that processes complex data faster will enable new discoveries and enhanced recoveries, which are crucial to both ensuring the availability of adequate supply to meet the demand for energy and to cut costs while boosting productivity. Continuous investment in innovative technology is an essential enabler of our Company’s long-term growth strategy, and Dammam 7 is another step in our plan to invest in the right technology that drives production efficiency and resilience,” said Aramco President & CEO, Amin H. Nasser.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: Khazna eyes data centre capacity expansion to fuel digitisation in UAE
