Progress highlighted at Aramco SABIC forum

Close collaboration and alignment between Saudi Aramco and SABIC will help advance strategic plans that will unlock the full value creation potential for the group, president and CEO Amin Nasser told an Aramco and SABIC Leadership Summit held recently in Dhahran.

Conducted virtually, the leadership summit drew together key senior management and professionals from both companies, including Nasser; Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, senior vice president of Downstream; Khalid H. Al-Dabbagh, Aramco’s senior vice president of Finance, Strategy and Development and SABIC chairman; and Yousef A. Al-Benyan, SABIC vice chairman and CEO.

In June, Aramco sealed the purchase of its 70% stake in the Saudi petrochemical giant in one of the largest ever deals in the chemical industry.

Important milestone

Nasser described Aramco’s acquisition of the SABIC stake as a very important milestone for our integration journey. 
 

There is no doubt that we have a lot of challenges, and at the same time, we have a lot of opportunities. I am confident that with the two teams working together at Aramco and SABIC, we can achieve a lot.
— Amin Nasser

He noted that while the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the oil and gas industry for most of 2020, improvement in the economic landscape is on the horizon.

“The completion of the SABIC transaction in June underlined Aramco’s strategic commitment,” Nasser said. “It was an important milestone for us. We were able to show the strength and resilience of the company under the current circumstances. SABIC is a very important part of our strategy.”

Al-Benyan said: “For all of us, this is a historical moment, and I think that this will bring not only more accountability, but encourage us all to deliver. Yes, we are very excited to become Aramco’s chemical arm, but at the same time we have an aspiration to grow and excel to become the national chemical champion.
 

Therefore, alignment is going to be crucial. I think, for us to define success, we need to make sure that there is a clear alignment in our expectations.
— Yousef A. Al-Benyan

Energy mix

Al Qahtani told the summit: “If I were to sum up our Downstream strategy in just a few words, I would say we strive to be fully integrated across the value chain — from the wellhead through chemicals and consumer fuel tanks — by leveraging Aramco’s competitive advantage of extremely efficient, low-cost, secure, and reliable supply of crude oil and gas, as well as SABIC’s outstanding capabilities, market presence, channels, and brand, among other strengths.”

Al-Dabbagh, in his capacity as SABIC chairman, also briefed the summit in addition to Al-Benyan, both emphasizing the opportunities for collaboration, synergy and integration between the two companies. 

Nasser, emphasizing that crude oil will continue to be critical to the energy mix for decades, said Aramco continues to proactively address the challenges posed by climate change. He highlighted that our upstream low carbon intensity production is a significant competitive advantage, as is “our low-cost structure and lower emissions, which we will continue to drive down." 

He noted that the two teams working closely together would be crucial.

Top Page Photo Caption: Collaboration, integration, and teamwork and the role they will have in providing a bright future for Aramco and SABIC were highlighted during the first-ever Aramco and SABIC Leadership Summit held in Dhahran last week. Conducted virtually, the leadership summit drew together key senior management and professionals from both companies. (Photo: Abdulaziz Al-Moaiweed/MPD)