Saudi Aramco signed a MoU with Gazprom, Russia’s premier gas company, to develop a business portfolio in international upstream gas, allowing the introduction of new vendors and suppliers to the Kingdom’s market.
The agreement was signed at the Saudi-Russian Business Investment Forum, jointly organized by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Council of Saudi Chambers, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The scope of the MoU includes LNG trade, LNG value chain and exploration / development, as well as product storing.
The rich endowment of resources of both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation can enable companies from both countries to collaborate in creating synergies for a sustainable energy future with business and operational initiatives driven by technology, research and innovation, said Amin H. Nasser, Saudi Aramco President and CEO in a panel discussion at the Forum.
Mr. Nasser said vast opportunities for collaboration between companies from Saudi Arabia and Russia are created by both the Kingdom’s existing economic pillars and the development and diversification envisaged by Saudi Vision 2030. Further, he outlined a number of areas for potential collaboration with Russian companies in industrial localization; international gas; downstream petrochemicals; technology, research and innovation; trading; and climate change and carbon management.
Further, he provided strategic insights on the future of energy and how the Kingdom and Russia could pool their sizable resources together in driving the global energy transformation by factoring in alternative energy which can complement oil’s existing preeminence, particularly gas and downstream / chemicals.
“We have already established eight research centers around the world that complement our main research facilities in Saudi Arabia. Considering Russia’s considerable strengths in science and technology, as well as highly talented researchers, scientists and engineers, we are exploring collaboration in R&D field,” he said.
Trading, according to Mr. Nasser, would also be an integral enabler to the strategic partnership with Russian entities involving opportunities in and refined products swaps, trading logistics, shipping and storage facilities, and new market venturing.
“Considering the large oil and gas resources possessed by our two countries, we also have a common interest in strengthening oil’s position and there are numerous to collaborate in these areas,” he said.
Saudi Aramco signed four more Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) with key Russian energy entities during the Royal Visit, including Saudi Public Investment Fund and Russian Direct Investment Fund, LITASCO, Gazprom Neft (Gazprom’s subsidiary), and Russian Direct Investment Fund and SIBUR.