Oliver Wyman is advising Saudi Aramco in their efforts to build a Big Data and AI unit. The new business unit will aim to leverage advanced data analytics to help the oil giant enhance decision-making across the business and profits.
Development of the so-called Global Optimizer unit started in 2022 after a comprehensive reform process within the company that was incepted the year before. The reform is helping Saudi Aramco make major adjustments in operations and strategic investments, as well as becoming more agile in responding to market changes.
Oliver Wyman notes that creating more sophisticated business models with the help of units like Global Optimizer can translate to up to $2 more of value per barrel of oil before interest and taxes.
As Nadim Haddad, partner and head of oil and gas for India, the Middle East, and Africa at Oliver Wyman says in the report:
“Aramco’s growing Downstream global footprint and value-chain integration present many opportunities, and the building and enhancement of a digitally-focused and commercially savvy model such as Global Optimization will allow for these to be fully assessed and captured.”
Oliver Wyman helping Saudi Aramco with Big Data and AI unit
For Saudi Arabia’s most significant company, which sells oil at between $4 and $7 per barrel, that return on investment will translate into massive gains. In its latest published financial year, Saudi Aramco booked revenues of over $535 billion and record net income of approximately $161 billion.
“We have 70 people working on this initiative, and we’re still adding more,”
said Yasser Mufti, Saudi Aramco’s executive vice president for products and customers, in a rare interview with Reuters.
It is looking like nothing can get in the way of Saudi Aramco, which by some accounts is the most profitable company in the entire world – and one of the all-time largest. The company has been pushing rapid expansion in recent years.
After making investments in a number of Chinese refineries, Saudi Aramco more recently entered talks to buy stakes in Shandong Yulong Petrochemical. Aramco also acquired a 40% stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan in December and looked to enter the gas sector by taking a stake in MidOcean Energy, a LNG company owned by an American investment firm.
It comes as no surprise why Saudi Aramco is making this significant move to embrace data-driven ways of working, including artificial intelligence. Companies around the world have increasingly been adopting a wide range of AI tools, hoping for potentially huge benefits to their business models.
Last year, Saudi Aramco was named one of the top 50 most innovative companies in the world.
Sourced from: Consultancy ME