The American multinational conglomerate, Honeywell and Saudi Arabia’s petroleum and natural gas giant, Saudi Aramco have entered into a partnership to explore the co-development and commercialization of next-generation digital solutions for industrial firms.
As part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Aramco’s Plant.Digital system will strengthen its digital technology and its technical and domain knowledge in end-to-end plant operations by combining Honeywell’s global software development and commercialization expertise. A joint venture (JV) between the two companies will be formed, which will bring the solution to the market.
Aramco’s Plant.Digital suite will offer industrial firms the tools, processes and practices that they need to run the plant operations more effectively and will boost sustainable digital transformation and operational excellence initiatives across industries. This dynamic entity will emphasize the development and deployment of Operations Technology (OT) solutions and Digital Transformation Consulting.
The JV is anticipated to offer over 500 jobs in the Kingdom within five years of its launch, supporting the country’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) Program which was designed to boost Saudi economic and workforce development.
Nabil Al Nuaim Chief Digital Officer Aramco
“Aramco continues to pursue its Digital Transformation Program as part of its evolution to become the world’s leading digitalized energy corporation. We aim to expand this expertise into industrial sectors worldwide as we spearhead digital innovation in the energy sector globally. This partnership will boost locally developed content, contribute to GDP growth, create new jobs, expand the Kingdom’s digital industrial ecosystem, accelerate digital talent development and sustain Aramco’s resilience.”
Further, the proposed JV will offer digital solutions and services to enable industrial companies to integrate business and manufacturing data from across the full breadth of plant operations to help maximize yield, reduce downtime and improve plant productivity and sustainability.
Ms. Que Dallara, President and CEO, Honeywell Connected Enterprise, said “The powerful combination of Aramco’s business, operations, technology, and Plant.Digital system delivery expertise, coupled with Honeywell’s proven experience in industrial software and big data analytics solutions, will unlock tremendous value for the industry.”
The collaboration highlights the commitment of Aramco and Honeywell to Saudi Vision 2030, which targets to develop high-tech and knowledge-based careers that add significant value to the Saudi economy to compete globally.
