China's technological prowess has grown and China is now a world leader in many high tech sectors. Saudi Aramco has eagerly joined hands with China to build new reservoirs of knowledge.
Aramco Beijing Research Center (BRC) was established in 2015 and focuses on creating innovative, high impact solutions and tools to support Saudi Aramco toward its strategic objective of exemplifying leadership in technology innovation and development. The current technology portfolio spans several research domains, including Geology, Geophysics, Advanced Oilfield Chemicals, Refining & Chemicals, and Sustainable Transport:
• The Geology Technology program focuses on developing new quantitative solutions to optimize the evaluation of petroleum systems and reduce uncertainties pertaining to exploration and development of hydrocarbon reservoirs.
• The Geophysics Technology program continues its triumph in delivering new innovative solutions to seismic imaging challenges, including automated subsurface seismic image processing and interpretation based on artificial intelligence and machine learning, real-time imaging ahead of drilling, and advance seismic imaging of complex geology geological structures.
• The Advanced Oilfield Chemicals program focuses on synthesizing and developing advanced materials for optimized oilfield chemical applications and reducing Upstream operations' carbon intensity – by developing advanced surfactants and polymers utilizing in-house laboratory analysis and evaluation.
• The Refining & Chemicals Technology program develops and scales up key technologies to increase the use of petroleum-based feedstock for chemicals and improve refining-petrochemicals integration to produce high value chemical products.
• Based in Shanghai, the Strategic Transport Analysis team pursues cutting-edge advances in engine technology and next-generation fuels, by collaborating with major industry partners and key research institutions to enable sustainable and affordable, low-carbon mobility for all.
To fortify Saudi Aramco's research endeavor and build stronger research ties with Chinese experts, strategic collaborations with top research institutions and industrial partners have been established to develop cutting-edge solutions to upstream and downstream challenges. Beijing Research Center has signed several MOUs and NDAs and completed multiple research projects with top Chinese universities and industry partners, in addition to hosting numerous graduate students for summer internships.