$ 73.61

JUN 15

71.66

JUNE 22

76.26

MAY 25

73.88

JUN 1

73.45

JUN 8

OPEC basket five-week price trend 2018

224women so far have been successfully certified at the Saudi Aramco Driving Center in Dhahran, with 168 having received their driving licenses.

Saudi Aramco by the numbers

celebrating a historic day with safety in mind

From Jiddah to Abqaiq and Ras Tanura to ‘Udhailiyah, thousands of Saudi

Aramco employees and their dependents packed

community facilities, beaches, and even the

new Ithra theater to celebrate ‘Id al-Fitr.

‘Id al-Fitr: a grand celebration

see pages 8 and 9

During a call with the company’s line management Kingdom-wide, president and CEO Amin Nasser noted that June 24 was a historic day in Saudi Arabia, with women driving for the very first time. 

This is a moment to be celebrated on many levels, Nasser said, adding: “As an

enabler of the participation of women in our country’s workforce, this will have a ripple effect with tangible economic ben-efits, moving us closer to the ambitious goals of Saudi Vision 2030. And on a more personal level — to all women across the Kingdom — we offer our support and con-

gratulations. We share your excitement.”

Saudi Aramco supportNasser noted that Saudi Aramco, in line

with its Citizenship value, has taken a

continued on page 2

A three-day Women Drivers Campaign sponsored by Saudi Aramco in Dammam sought to instruct female motorists on proper driving techniques, key safety requirements, and traffic rules while offering them a chance to use driving simulators.

see page 2

helping with history

Nouf Al-Dossary takes the wheel at the Saudi Aramco Driving Center, where Saudi Aramco provides a 34-hour driving course for female employees and dependents. The center is just one way the company is supporting the empowerment of women. (Photo: Hasan AlMubarak/MPD)

June 27, 2018 vol. LXXIII, No. 25 a weekly Saudi Aramco publication for employees

leading role in supporting this historic mo-ment, and the new era it represents.

• The company has established its own state-of-the-art driving school for female employees and dependents. The Driving Training Center teaches safe and defensive driving and is managed by an international principal and four assessors, in addition to 50 certified young Saudi women as profes-sional trainers.

• So far, the center has successfully cer-tified 224 women who have completed the driving course requirements — and of those 224, a total of 168 have received their driving licenses.

• Additionally, the company is providing support to women driving programs con-

ducted by organizations such as Imam Ab-dulrahman Al Faisal University and Princess Nourah University.

• Saudi Aramco has also partnered with the Eastern Province Emirate, Traffic Police, and other organizations (including media outreach) to conduct an awareness cam-paign. This includes, for instance, a defen-sive driving education tent on the Dammam corniche.

a call for safetyNasser said that in this moment of cele-

bration comes a challenge, as we must re-double our focus on safety.

With thousands of new drivers, Sau-di Arabia’s roads will be busier than ever before, Nasser said. But he added that it’s important to remember that most of these

drivers would have just completed driver education training.

“Let us commit to joining them in under-standing and adhering to traffic safety laws and practicing safe, defensive driving in our travels,” Nasser said. “I urge Aramcons to exercise caution and care on the roads during this historic and exciting time. In fact, we have a unique opportunity to set a new precedent for safe driving. Let us seize this opportunity.”

“One day, we will look back and remem-ber that what happened on Saudi Arabia’s roads today symbolized our path forward as a people and as a nation,” Nasser said. “I would also like us to be able to say that this moment marked a turning point when we as a nation not only became more mo-bile, but safer in the process.”

continued from front page

celebrating a historic day with safety in mind

I urge Aramcons to exercise caution and care on the roads during this historic and exciting time. In fact, we have a unique opportunity to set a new precedent for safe driving. Let us seize this opportunity. — Amin Nasser

”

Saudi Aramco conducts women’s driving campaign in Dammam

Dammam — Sponsored by Saudi Aram-co and concurrent with the effective date of the Royal Decree allowing women to drive, a three-day Women Drivers Cam-paign — co-organized by Saudi Aramco’s Traffic Safety Signature Program (TSSP) and Eastern Province Traffic Department — was launched at the Dammam Corniche Walk-way last Thursday and ran through Satur-day.

“Saudi Aramco is keen to participate in all events that contribute to commu-nity awareness, particularly as we have approached a historic moment allowing women to drive,” said Nabeel A. Al-Jama’, vice president of Corporate Affairs. “We have to supply the necessary aids to facili-tate this significant step.

“Women empowerment is a Saudi Ar-amco strategy. Consistent with its pro-grams and initiatives within this essential framework on the national stage, allowing women to drive is key to bolstering wom-en’s role in all development aspects,” he added.

The event, which was designed to in-struct on proper driving techniques, ex-posed women to safety requirements and traffic rules, and offered them driving ex-perience through three simulation meth-ods.

in women’s words“This campaign is a nice gateway to

break the fear within women of driving in the Kingdom,” said Fawziah Al-Waqit, who traveled from Riyadh to take part in the campaign. “I was impressed by the amount of interest and thirst for knowl-edge in the families and girls I have met today. I have been asked many precise questions that express a strong desire for learning and self-affirmation.”

One mother, referring to herself as Umm Yassir, attended the event with her daugh-ter, Nourah, and was looking forward to a bright future for her daughter.

“My daughter does not realize the amount of joy that overwhelms me because she cannot imagine the feeling of a woman

leaving her house early in the morning to a remote area with a group of women and a driver wasting hours of her day as he col-lects other riders from different areas in the city, and then repeats it again as she returns home,” she said. “I wish I had driven my car myself. I could have saved more time for my children and my home.”

Tasnim M. Ahmed, a university student, said she would get a driver’s license so she could rely on herself to travel between home and college, and to fulfill her needs without relying on anyone. “My moth-er taught me that a woman who creates a generation can be responsible for her-self, and that being in the driver’s seat is a right,” she said.

supporting developmentKeeping pace with Saudi Vision 2030’s

goals and objectives, Saudi Aramco is sup-porting female professional development through women empowerment and has established a driving center to teach wom-en to drive.

The Saudi Aramco Driving Center pro-vides female trainees with driving rules and tools that are consistent with safety re-quirements and defensive driving. To Saudi Aramco, safety goes beyond operational processes and embraces the whole com-munity through outreach programs rein-forcing a culture of safety.

The center provides a 34-hour driving course for female employees and depen-dents — 10 hours for theoretical training, and 24 hours for practical training.

Accommodating 3,600 female trainees annually, the center applies a smart learn-ing environment that allows female train-ers to graduate qualified female drivers. The rate of successful trainees who have met the license requirements hit more than 95% of the total 224 applicants in the first group.

One of Saudi Aramco’s strategies for educating future female Saudi drivers is to begin with youths, nurturing proper driving behaviors to girls school age and up. The three-day Women Drivers Campaign sponsored by the company offered activities for future female drivers of all ages. (Photos: Abdullah Al-Shammary/MPD)

Safety, defensive driving, and proper driving techniques were all key aspects of the workshop. In addition to the campaign, the company’s driving center provides a 34-hour driving course for female employees and dependents.

economic benefits for allowing women to drive

• More women could enter the workforce to help meet the Saudi Vi-sion 2030 target for female employ-ment

• Ending the driving ban could help the government meet its targets for in-creasing GDP from the private sector

• Allowing women to drive could lift economic growth and add to the economy

• Families who previously hired driv-ers could on average save SR3,800 a month.

June 27, 2018

2 company news

New Delhi, India — Saudi Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced this week that they have signed a Framework Agreement to jointly develop the Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (RRPCL), a 1.2 mil-lion barrels per day integrated mega-re-finery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri, 215 miles south of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India.

The Framework Agreement was signed by Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco president and CEO, and HE Sultan A. Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO.

The agreement defines the principles of the joint strategic cooperation between Saudi Aramco and ADNOC to jointly build, own, and operate the complex in collabo-ration with a consortium of Indian national oil companies, comprising Indian Oil Cor-poration Ltd. (IOCl), Bharat Petroleum Cor-poration Ltd. (BPCL), and Hindustan Petro-leum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL).

Saudi Aramco and ADNOC will joint-ly own 50% of the new joint venture (JV) company RRPCL, with the remaining 50% owned by the Indian consortium.

Furthermore, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser signed a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) and Acknowledgment with ADNOC, RRPCL, IOCl, BPCL, and HPCL. The MOU was signed by Al Jaber; Sanjiv Singh, chairman of the IOCl; M.K. Surana, HPCL chairman and managing director; D. Rajku-mar, BPCL chairman and managing direc-tor; and B. Ashok, RRPCL CEO.

HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan

Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and HE Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, witnessed the signing of the agreements between AD-NOC, Saudi Aramco, and the consortium of Indian oil companies to explore a stra-tegic partnership and co-investment in the development of the new $44 billion me-ga-refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri.

a regional partnership on a global level

The partnership between Saudi Aramco and ADNOC marks a significant step in re-gional energy partnership and cooperation, bringing together two of the world’s lead-ing national oil companies as strategic part-ners with the Indian consortium. It will also combine their considerable expertise span-ning crude supply, resources, and technolo-gies, along with an established commercial presence and global reach. A pre-feasibil-ity study to determine the project’s overall configuration will now be jointly executed by the parties.

Nasser emphasized the JV’s long-range focus. “World energy demand is expect-ed to grow exponentially by 2050, driven in large part by India,” Nasser said. “Saudi Aramco is proud to partner with ADNOC and RRPCL to help ensure that the world’s fastest-growing economy has secure, re-liable energy feedstocks for its long-term prosperity.

“The Ratnagiri project will meet India’s

rising demand for fuels and chemical prod-ucts while serving the strategic objectives of the partners. I am pleased that Saudi Ar-amco will deepen its engagement in India’s fast-growing oil and gas sector through this project that also positions us for future collaboration here as a key element of our company’s global downstream strategy,” he said.

Al Jaber said the project is a clear exam-ple of the UAE’s expanded downstream strategy. “By investing in this project, we will both secure off-take of our crude to a key market for ADNOC, as well as strength-en access in one of the world’s largest and

Saudi Aramco, ADNOC work with Indian consortium toward building mega-refinery

fastest growing refining and petrochemical markets. It underlines our expanded ap-proach to energy partnerships by joining hands with both Saudi Aramco and our In-dian colleagues, combining a truly unique set of assets, capabilities, and market reach to meet India’s projected energy demand growth,” said Al Jaber.

Pradhan said: “Our oil and gas relations have taken a major leap today with the signing of the MoU between Saudi Aram-co and ADNOC. This will make the UAE and Saudi Arabia partners in India’s rap-idly growing refining sector and in India’s growth story.”

Amin Nasser, center, smiles following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with HE Sultan A. Al Jaber and a consortium of Indian oil companies to develop a mega-refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri, south of Mumbai. Among those joining Nasser are, to his left, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Shri Dharmendra Pradhan.

Vienna — Speaking at the OPEC Interna-tional Seminar, Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said investment in the upstream oil sector would need to rebound following a period of decline from 2014 to 2016.

“What we do at Saudi Aramco is invest over the long term — and our investments since the downturn, in both upstream and downstream — did not decrease, but they actually increased,” he told a packed audito-rium at the 7th edition of the OPEC Seminar in Vienna. “However, what we have noticed in the rest of the world is a big drop in in-vestments, which will likely impact future supply.”

While the trajectory of investment is now positive, Nasser said that it may not be ad-equate.

OPEC: supply, investment, balance

“For certain companies in a low price scenario, they cannot continue investing or sustain investments at low prices. While companies maintain the same level of share-holder dividend, investments have dropped, especially in exploration, which has been hit badly,” he said. Nasser highlighted that most new major developments, except for offshore Africa, have been severely impacted by a lack of investment.

‘Global Oil Future Challenges’Moderated by John Defterios from CNN,

Nasser participated in a panel session called “Global Oil Future Challenges” alongside Andrew Gould, former CEO of Schlumberg-er and a current member of Saudi Aramco’s Board of Directors; Hess Corp. CEO John Hess; Gazprom Neft’s head of Strategy and Innovation Sergey Vakulenko; Chevron’s

Business Development vice president Jay R. Pryoer; and Oando, PLC Group chief execu-tive Jubril A. Tinubu.

Gould suggested the industry shouldn’t be threatened by a short-term demand drop, though it was noticeable that operators are now focusing on quick returns as a result — at the expense of ultimate recovery.

Nasser was also quizzed on the impact of transportation, given its importance to oil demand. “I believe heavy trucks, shipping, and aviation will see decent growth,” he said. “But of course, we are expecting fleets to be more efficient and have lower carbon emissions as a result of improvements in technology.

“What you see in terms of a decline of growth in oil demand is driven more by ef-ficiency improvements, such as in internal combustion engines rather than from elec-tric vehicles and renewables,” he added.

Speaking on the opening day, OPEC Sec-retary General HE Mohammad S. Barkindo, who said the event was a “who’s who of global oil and energy industry leaders,” also underlined the importance of cooperation.

This year’s seminar focused on petro-leum’s contribution to a sustainable energy future and featured ministers and officials from OPEC and non-OPEC member coun-tries alike. In addition to senior leadership of many leading oil companies, there were also a number of leading scientists and energy experts in attendance.

According to OPEC, the seminar is de-signed to reinforce the organization’s long-standing commitment of striving toward a secure and stable market in support of a healthy global economy.

During a panel session titled “Global Oil Future Challenges” at the 7th OPEC Seminar in Vienna, Amin Nasser speaks about efficiency improvements in internal combustion engines.

During the 7th OPEC Seminar in Vienna last week, HE Khalid A. Al-Falih notes the importance of rebalancing the oil market and Saudi Aramco’s commitment to its customers.

The successful rebalancing of the oil mar-ket was a key message delivered by His Ex-cellency Khalid A. Al-Falih, Minister of En-ergy, Industry and Mineral Resources, and chairman of the Saudi Aramco Board of Di-rectors, at the OPEC International Seminar last week.

During a discussion with Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of “IHS Markit,” moderated by CNN anchor John Defterios, the minister explained how the objective of rebalancing the oil market had been reached and there was now a strong alignment between pro-ducers and consumers.

“Our first and foremost responsibility is to our customers. We have to respond to the market,” said Al-Falih.

“Our objective in the next phase is to fur-ther calibrate the market for the benefit of the global economy, based on the current strong sense of consensus and cohesion among the producers.”

Al-Falih: oil market has been rebalanced

by Muazzin Mehrban

the arabian sun

3company news

students draw on artistic talentsto raise 911 Emergency awarenessschool artwork helps spread the 911 message across Saudi Aramco in unique community collaboration

Dhahran — As the 911 Emergency awareness campaign continues to roll out within communities and facilities across Saudi Aramco’s areas of operations, em-ployees and communities alike will have noticed that the artistic talents of students in the company’s schools have been put to high-impact visual use.

Powerful student artwork is featured with the 911 number emblazoned in white on a striking red background on wall posters, Saudi Aramco weekly newspaper ads, pull-up banners, elevator stickers, landscape boxes, car sun shields, bus branding, and a host of other platforms.

The nine drawing designs — produced by children in Dhahran Hills School — depict firefighters, paramedics, and security per-sonnel in action, as well as artistic represen-tations of the 911 number itself.

Saudi Aramco’s integrated emergency re-sponse apparatus now falls under the call number 911 — an emergency number that is familiar worldwide.

awareness campaignAn awareness campaign is currently un-

derway to familiarize employees and their families living in Saudi Aramco communities with the universal 911 service.

And school students have played a cen-tral role in spreading the 911 Emergency message. The nine students whose artwork has been featured have been recognized and presented with gifts at a special cere-mony in Dhahran’s Industrial Security Oper-ations (ISO) building by Talal A. Al Suhaim, manager of the Industrial Security Support Department (ISSD).

The idea to feature the student artwork came from ISO’s desire to engage with all age groups in Saudi Aramco communities.

Al Suhaim explained, “The kids joined with our efforts to relay the message that we want to convey to our communities on a level that everyone can understand.

“Kids are also a great vehicle for our communication with adults. That’s why the kids are so important in this effort,” he said. “We care about the kids and we have seen across the world instances where kids have made the 911 calls to save the lives of their parents.

“Their active participation ensures that they know what this number means and how important it is — they can access fire, ambulance, and security via this number.”

ISO vision Al Suhaim added that the collaboration

with community schools was in line with ISO’s vision and mission, which is to make Saudi Aramco “the most secure place to live and work,” and “sustain company busi-ness by protecting our people and assets, using an integrated approach of qualified staff, comprehensive procedures, and the latest technologies.”

He added: “We were able to utilize the great imaginations of the kids who came up with these very impactful drawings that are featured in our campaign.

“This has been an outstanding collabora-tion in promoting the 911 Emergency line, and the campaign addresses different age groups so that we can capture all ages. It has been a unique collaboration. The use of 911 marks a big step toward standardizing and effectively targeting the general pub-

lic and everyone within the Saudi Aramco communities. I urge everyone to save the number to their mobile phones so that they can reach us in a very short period of time.

“Every second counts in an emergency, as it can be a matter of life or death,” said Al Suhaim.

inspired studentsGeorge Hoeppner, associate principal at

Dhahran Hills School, said fourth-grade stu-dents were given the opportunity to work independently on the project.

“The amount of students who chose to participate was overwhelming in both num-bers and creativity,” he said. “It’s quite a statement about the excellence of our art program at Dhahran Hills School that we have been able to instill a love of the arts in our students to the degree that we have.

“To know the amount of work and pas-sion that Mrs. Armoreda, Mr. Dragonetti, Mrs. Sutterlin, and Ms. Wachtel put into their craft, this is really a nice way to hon-or the work that they have done with our students.”

Charlotte Murphy, a Grade 5 visual arts teacher at Saudi Aramco Expatriate Schools, said the art project was a great way to inspire students to take positive safety action in their community. The proj-ect was introduced to 250 fifth-grade stu-dents.

“One of the goals for students in our art program is to identify how art is used to in-form or change beliefs, values, or behaviors of an individual or a community,” she said.

“This was an authentic opportunity to challenge my students to make a real dif-ference. I dedicated an art class to the 911

Art Project. I talked to the students about how the company was looking for new and creative ideas to spread an important message and that they had been chosen to help. “We made connections to our drawing skills and brainstormed creative responses that met all of the criteria for the project. I gave the Grade 5 students the challenge for homework, to help the com-pany spread the word about the change in the number.”

Murphy said the students felt empow-ered to be involved in such a positive ini-tiative and that many students submitted artistic entries.

“I am thankful that the student’s cre-ativity and skills were called upon to help support the local community, and I look forward to working with Saudi Aramco on other projects in the future,” she said.

Once an Emergency 911 call is made, the emergency center triggers the most rap-id and appropriate response. When a call comes in, operators from Saudi Aramco’s Fire Protection Department, Johns Hop-kins Aramco Healthcare medical respond-ers, and ISO are listening and assessing the emergency and how best to respond.

Phone GuyAmanah Begum,age 9, Dhahran Hills School

Police CarAsma Ansari,age 9, Dhahran Hills School

Police ManAhmed Shadid,age 9, Dhahran Hills School (held by Talal A. Al Suhaim)

FiremanPavitra Arun,age 10, Dhahran Hills School

Car AccidentLeira Veras,age 11, Dhahran Middle School

Hollow Numerals:Maryam Syed,age 10, Dhahran Middle School

Striped Numerals:Zainab Haniya Parwez,age 10, Dhahran Middle School

Sharpie Numerals:Ethan Ding,age 10, Dhahran Middle School

Icons:Areeba Ali,age 10, Dhahran Middle School

the schoolchildren whose art is spreading the 911 message

click for detailsYou can go to911.aramco.com.sa, where you can find all of the details for the emergency number, for access from mobile phones and landlines alike.

not pictured

by Eamonn Houston

June 27, 2018

4 company news

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Industrial Security Operations

911 is our new landlineemergency number. Emergency Center

مرکز الطوارئ

Call 911 from any Saudi Aramco landline for security,fire, or ambulance. When calling from a mobile phoneor non-Saudi Aramco network, use the Saudi AramcoEmergency Center number for your area.

Find your local emergency number and save it today:

911.aramco.com.sa

the arabian sun

5company news

IT campaign: ‘You are the Key to Your Safety’

Aramco Asia-Japan reaches out to morelocal suppliers

Saudi Aramco’s Information Technology admin area recently continued its concerted monthly efforts to bring safety awareness to all employees with its “You are the Key to Your Safety” event.

Led by the Computer Operations Depart-ment, the main event was held at Al-Midra Tower, and it will be followed by other lo-cations throughout the Kingdom. The cam-paign’s main focus is threefold:

Tokyo — Aramco Asia-Japan’s (AAJ) Strategic Procurement and Logistics De-partment (SPLD) recently hosted the first Suppliers Forum in Tokyo to place stronger emphasis on fostering closer ties with com-mercial suppliers.

Approximately 160 delegates from over 90 companies, as well as representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japan External Trade Orga-

Saudi Aramco employees visit one of the many booths at the recent “You are the Key to Your Safety” event sponsored by Information Technology. The event focused on the use of seat belts, showing the difficulty first responders face in responding to accidents, and preventing household electrical fires.

Imran A. Hariri (left), along with Abdulrahman Z. Al-Mogren, participate in the afternoon sessions of the first Suppliers Forum held in Tokyo.

Kyoko Nakamura, Aramco Asia-Japan Supplier Registration coordinator (left), listens to questions from Japanese suppliers during the afternoon sessions.

Omar M. Al-Amudi delivers the opening remarks at the first Suppliers Forum in Tokyo. The goal of the event was to place stronger emphasis on fostering closer ties with commercial suppliers.

• To reduce fatalities through seat belt use• To show how first responders face the

consequences of vehicle accidents • To prevent fires by highlighting the dan-

gers of overloading power outlets and ex-tension cords.

Several booths were set up where repre-sentatives from the Ministry of Interior (Pub-lic Security, General Directorate of Civil De-fense, and the Department of Weapons and Explosives), the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education were invited to share vital information on these issues. They were joined by representatives from King Fahad Hospital and Saudi Aramco’s Traffic Safety Signature Program (TSSP).

Seat BeltTSSP, a Saudi Aramco sponsored pro-

gram, was established in 2009 to improve highway safety across the Kingdom, start-ing with the Eastern Province, which holds the country’s second highest motor vehicle fatality rate. Its Seat Belt Convincer cam-paign was put together to show visitors the catastrophic results of not wearing a seat belt — even at very low speeds. Some chilling statistics were also shared, including the fact that only two of every 10 motorists in the Kingdom use or make their families

wear lifesaving restraints, which is partly responsible for one of every three hospital beds across the country being occupied by a crash victim.

first respondersMedical staff from King Fahad Hospital

reinforced the message by sharing what first responders encounter at crash scenes. The staff provided a demonstration of the latest techniques of accident triage and life support used during those critical minutes between the crash and the ambulance’s ar-rival to transport the victims to the hospital.

preventing firesFirefighters addressed the dangers of

overloading power outlets and extension cords by teaching visitors how to calculate the total voltage plugged into an extension cord. The firefighters emphasized the im-portance of keeping a watchful eye on the permitted limit to avoid any overload that could result in a fire.

More than 1,200 employees visited the event, seizing the opportunity to interact with experts. The event achieved what it set out to do — inform employees how to be safety conscious while driving, at work, and in their homes.

nization, and all three Japanese mega-banks attended the event co-hosted by the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East.

The forum was held for the first time in Japan to target Japanese suppliers with objectives to expand and strengthen the supply base to AAJ, explain the supplier’s qualification process, and introduce the lo-calization program “iktva,” which is also a part of the joint “Saudi-Japan Vision 2030” between Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Omar M. Al-Amudi, representative di-rector of AAJ, opened the forum with his welcoming remarks. “This forum couldn’t have come at a better time, because Saudi Aramco has huge investment opportunities over the coming 10 years. And those will include a number of mega-projects where certain Japanese suppliers such as you are expected to play a major role,” he said.

A team from Saudi Aramco followed by delivering presentations on how to do busi-ness with the company, and the technical and quality requirements of the approval process for manufacturers. The iktva pro-gram was also introduced and explained

in detail, together with two success stories of Japanese companies, J-Power Systems Saudi Co. Ltd., and Azbil Saudi Ltd. — both having established their own local manu-facturing in Saudi Arabia.

In the afternoon, a series of one-on-one meetings covered various subjects such as local investment and the approval process from a commercial, technical, and quality perspective. Attendees were actively en-gaged throughout the entire program, which promoted open dialog and strong interest from the supplier community. The iktva ses-sion received the highest number of attend-ees and was divided into three sessions pro-vided by Imran A. Hariri, administrator in the Supplier Relationship Management Division in Purchasing and Supply Chain Manage-ment, and Abdulrahman Z. Al-Mogren, dep-uty managing director of AAJ SPLD.

The AAJ SPLD team will continue sup-porting the suppliers who have shown in-terest in doing business with Saudi Aram-co and developing localization plans in all possible ways to promote and make “doing business with Saudi Aramco” a reality.

June 27, 2018

6 company news

Aramco hosts forum to promote iktva, attract more Asian contractors

Fahad A. Al-Sahali delivers opening remarks at the Saudi Aramco Contractors Forum, noting that the primary purpose of the event was to better inform partners about Saudi Aramco’s projects.

In his keynote speech at the Saudi Aramco Contractors Forum in Seoul, South Korea, Ahmad A. Al Sa’adi speaks of a new era of industry and partnership in light of Saudi Vision 2030.

Mishari Al-Eisa presents “Saudi Aramco General Bid Slates.”

Organizers and officials of the Saudi Aramco Contractors Forum pose for a photo with Ahmad A. Al Sa’adi. The forum was designed to welcome Korean engineering, procurement, and construction companies’ participation in Saudi Aramco’s upcoming mega-projects and to enhance the company’s contractor lists, general bid slates, and IK-OOK lump-sum turnkey master screening lists by expanding existing contractor registration areas and identifying new construction contractors from Korea, as well as Asia.

Seoul, South Korea — Aramco Asia-Ko-rea (AAK) hosted the “Saudi Aramco Con-tractors Forum” in coordination with Sau-di Aramco’s Project Management Office Department and Procurement and Supply Chain Management in Seoul.

The forum was designed to welcome Ko-rean engineering, procurement, and con-struction companies’ participation in Saudi Aramco’s upcoming mega-projects and to enhance the company’s contractor lists, general bid slates, and IK-OOK lump-sum turnkey master screening lists by expanding existing contractor registration areas and identifying new construction contractors from Korea and Asia.

More than 100 representatives of 27 en-gineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) companies from Korea, Japan, India, Australia, and Indonesia participated in the forum.

learning more about opportunities

“The main focus of this forum is to pro-vide the opportunity for you to understand more about Saudi Aramco’s diverse port-folio of projects and share the information you need to prequalify and register your companies,” said Fahad A. Al-Sahali, AAK representative director. “Such a forum is a clear indication of Saudi Aramco’s inten-tions to pursue a massive investment pro-gram over the next 10 years.”

In a keynote address, Ahmad A. Al Sa’adi, senior vice president of Technical Services, said the forum is an integral part of Saudi Aramco’s process to introduce business to our partners and EPC industries, and also to help foster a relationship between Saudi Aramco and the partners.

“With the Kingdom’s new direction set out in Saudi Vision 2030, we are now com-pletely in a different whole new era,” said Al Sa’adi. “This strategic initiative has ele-vated our role as a leader among champi-ons of economic and social transformation. We have many industrial and civil infrastruc-ture projects underway, ranging from mar-itime facilities to residential housing as well

as special purpose of investment such as the King Salman Energy Park. Especially, we would like to encourage Korean contractors to partner with us in executing projects ef-ficiently with cutting-edge technologies.”

three key areas for contractorsHe also highlighted three critical import-

ant areas contractors must be aware of.“One of the most significant ongoing im-

provement efforts has been the implemen-tation of an optimized, front-end loading system defined as the Capital Management System. By enhancing upfront planning and definition and clarifying stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities, Saudi Aramco hopes to improve its project process governance and project performance.”

The second initiative to enhance project execution, he said, was the introduction of Enterprise Project Management — a plat-form introduced to provide a structured project management business process by the use of standardized and integrated information systems for the efficient and consistent delivery of Saudi Aramco’s cap-ital projects.

Al Sa’adi also said Saudi Aramco plans to leverage new technologies to support project execution. “One key area we’re focusing on is digital transformation. Our objective is to capitalize on digitization to support project execution to both expedite project schedules and reduce any rework.”

During the forum, four different presen-tations were delivered by Saudi Aramco specialists, followed by an open discus-sion and question-and-answer session: “In-Kingdom Total Value Add (iktva) Pro-gram” by Ayman Al-Ghamdi, supervisor of the Supplier Solution Center Unit; “Sau-di Aramco General Bid Slates” by Mishari Al-Eisa, Market Research engineer; “Sau-di Aramco’s Registration and Prequalifi-cation for Service Suppliers” by Erick M. Bethune-Mitchell and Khaled N. Moqati, Saudi Aramco Contracting representatives; and “Construction Business Opportunities” by Abdullah Al-Seflan, Contract Coordina-tion engineer.

one-on-one sessionsThe forum continued with a one-on-one

meeting session with potential contractors

to cover in-depth discussions of their pre-qualification for Saudi Aramco general bid slates.

On the sideline of the two-day forum, Al Sa’adi held one-on-one meetings with top management from major Korean EPCs to enhance collaboration, cement ties, and promote the iktva program. He also visited the head offices of four major Korean EPCs and met with some potential investors who shared their in-Kingdom localization plans.

Saudi Aramco is implementing capital programs, and efficient project execution is an essential element of the success of the programs. AAK supports these capital programs throughout the project life cy-cle by encouraging EPC companies’ active participation in the Saudi Aramco bidding process, promoting iktva, the localization of business opportunities, processing ad hoc sourcing requests, providing key suppliers’ workload status to Project Management, and expediting delivery of materials. AAK and other Asia affiliates are committed to offering continuous support for improving bid competitiveness and enhancing project capabilities of Saudi Aramco organizations.

the arabian sun

7company news

Dhahran — At Saudi Aramco’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) during the second and third day of ‘Id, the Mariinsky Theater Orches-tra, conducted by a world-renowned maestro, per-formed at the Ithra Theater.

The orchestra is one of the oldest musical institu-tions in Russia, dating back over 200 years and ap-pearing in the world’s largest and most famous the-aters and opera houses.

Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco president and CEO, said he was delighted by the collaboration with the Russian Direct Investment Fund to bring the world-renowned orchestra to the Kingdom for the first time and to host its inaugural performance at the Ithra Theater. “This is a great example of busi-nesses going beyond corporate and economic coop-eration, demonstrating that cultural exchange can build bridges, strengthen bonds, and foster peo-ple-to-people engagements through shared cultural experiences,” Nasser said.

He added that while the Mariinsky Orchestra is one of Russia’s most established musical institutions, “Ithra is at the beginning of a promising future — a future that will contribute to the Kingdom’s artistic and cultural scene with unique showpieces.”

beginning to broaden horizonsFatmah Al-Rashid, Ithra acting director, said: “In

its mission to broaden horizons, Ithra inspires cre-ativity and provide its visitors with a cultural window that reflects the richness of our world. The Center is proud to host the world-renowned Mariinsky Theater Orchestra — particularly during the Id’ al-Fitr holiday, a time of great celebration. This will be the start of a new cultural era for visitors who make their way to Ithra. We are fully committed to contribute through the iconic platform of Ithra with inspiring knowl-edge, art, and creativity engagements to transform the quality of life, appreciate global diversity, and im-

prove the state of the world.”Elie Karam, artistic director, said the performance

“marks the beginning of many years of showcasing the best of human creativity. Just like the Mariinsky Orchestra performance, each show at our theater will inspire new experiences and new stories. They will prompt us to ponder questions about life and human nature.

“Wonderful and compelling stories will come from Saudi Arabia and also from different cultures from around the globe. Ithra is here and now — but con-nected to the whole world,” Karam added.

more than musicThe Mariinsky Theater Orchestra was just one of

many events that entertained thousands of visitors during the Ithra ‘Id al-Fitr Eid event. Running from June 16-23, the eight-day program included a tour of the Ithra Museum and its four exhibitions. At the “Funoon” exhibition, visitors were treated to a dis-play of highly acclaimed contemporary Middle East-ern art. Nearby at the “Ajyal” exhibition, visitors were able to observe the Kingdom between the past and the present.

The “Knooz” exhibition, organized in partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is a first-of-its-kind exhibit in the Kingdom and featured a remarkably large collection of Islamic art. Last, but not least, the “Rihlat” exhibition took attendees on a journey through the natural history of the Arabian Peninsula.

Ithra ‘Id also included a series of workshops in the Energy Exhibit, most notable being “The Physics Show,” which offered physical experiments related to the environment around us.

Also on offer was the “Interactive Characters” show where visitors met characters in the exhibit and got to know what kind of scientific content was hid-den inside their pockets.

ushering in the era of Ithra

‘Id al-Fitr: a grand celebration

Thousands of visitors and Aramcons poured into the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) to participate in a wide range of actvities ranging from interactive exhibits, workshops, and displays of Islamic art to historic exhibitions and even live performances. (Photos: Moayed Al-Qattan/MPD)

With the performance of the world-renowned Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture and the Ithra Theater marked the beginning of many years of showcasing the best of human creativity. “Ithra is at the beginning of a promising future — a promising future that will contribute to the Kingdom’s artistic and cultural scene with unique showpieces,” said Amin Nasser. (Photo: Ding/MPD)

8 community June 27, 2018

‘Id al-Fitr: a grand celebration

Community Services helps Aramcons Kingdomwide embrace, celebrate holiday

Saudi Aramco rolled out the red carpet for employees and their dependents during the recent ‘Id al-Fitr celebration as thousands flocked to Dhahran King’s Park, took family photos in ‘Udhailiyah, watched children take the stage for a traditional performance in Jiddah, and shared a moment with a furry friend in Ras Tanura.

Saudi Aramco employees and their families celebrated the ‘Id al-Fitr holidays, with thousands of Aramcons taking advantage of a variety of activities offered by the company at its facilities from one side of the Kingdom to the other.

In Dhahran, the Central Community Services Department said it witnessed its highest attendance ever at its ‘Id activities, with more than 20,000 visitors filling the King’s Park area to take advantage of the offerings. The department opened the celebration with a com-plementary breakfast at the Dhahran Dining Hall on the first day of ‘Id, followed by three more days of various outdoor and indoor activities at the park under the theme “Candy Land.”

In Jiddah, the Jiddah Community Services Division welcomed more than 1,500 Aramcons to take part in a wide variety of ac-tivities ranging from craft booths to children’s games, as well as a special musical show and a “Show Your Talents” competition.

The division expanded its offerings this year to include theatri-cal performances, a variety of competitions, and even gifts and ‘Id sweets to participants.

A free ‘Id breakfast was also held in Ras Tanura, followed by days of activities. On Day 2, the recently renovated North and South Splash Pads hosted a variety of children’s water games, giving par-ticipants an opportunity to cool off with water pistols, air balls, and a small water boat game.

With the Surf House fully decorated for the festivities, Aramcons took part in activities at a variety of facilities at the outdoor court-yard, the cinema, the Recreation library, baseball diamond, and the waterfront hall.

Activities were designed for various age groups so families could

enjoy their time together. Light shows, folk performances, and ac-robatic acts took their place on the main stage, and a live musical play titled “King of the Jungle” was performed three times, provid-ing entertainment and a lesson on good morals for packed audi-ences and about 750 people in total.

Over the three days, more than 3,300 Aramcons participated in the festivities in the Ras Tanura community.

welcome receptionsIn keeping with the customer focus theme, office users in the

Eastern Province were welcomed with Arabic coffee and chocolates on Sunday, June 24, as part of an ‘Id reception organized by the Office Services Department. 

Welcome receptions were held at 18 locations in Abqaiq, Dhahran, Ras Tanura, Mubarraz, and Tanajib. 

Approximately 7,500 visitors attended the reception services that started at 7 a.m. and concluded at 9 a.m. Area management, em-ployees, and contractors were happy to interact and greet each other at these venues.      

A traditional dance is performed in Abqaiq as part of the community’s annual ‘Id al-Fitr celebration.

Pony rides were just one of the activities offered during this year’s ‘Id celebration in Abqaiq. Community Services combined the events at Qurayyah Beach and the Abqaiq community this year to offer a bigger event.

Above, the Central Community Services Department introduced the virtual reality cinema truck for the first time in Dhahran, which was well-received by visitors. Below, a musical play titled “King of the Jungle” provided entertainment and lessons on good morals for packed audiences in Ras Tanura.

9communitythe arabian sun

why care for biodiversity? here’s a few reasons“Why should I care? Why should I

care that plants and animals are going extinct?”

This question is one that some may ask themselves when they are told about the biodiversity conservation crisis affecting the planet. Throughout the world, spe-cies are becoming extinct at an alarm-ing rate, about 1,000 times greater than the natural rate of extinction. But why should I care?

Islam and conservationMany people find spiritual reasons

for protecting biodiversity. For exam-ple, stewardship of plants and animals is compatible with the tenets of Islam. The Qur’an states that “There is not an animal on the earth, nor any being that wings its flight, but is a people like unto you” [6:38].

This is usually interpreted to mean that all animals and birds on earth deserve our respect and protection. The world is full of life, and one of our purposes on Earth is to be stewards that protect and care for living creatures.

business case for biodiversityThere are also business reasons for

protecting biodiversity. Protecting bio-diversity on Saudi Aramco land under-scores our “social license to operate.” Biodiversity loss is an area of increasing concern within society — nationally and globally. Society expects Saudi Aramco to provide oil and gas reliably and effi-ciently, and it expects us to do so in a

by Chris Boland

green matters

way that supports sustainable environmen-tal protection.

Major company initiatives such as plant-ing 2 million mangroves along the Arabian Gulf, reintroducing regionally extinct an-imals into the Shaybah Wildlife Sanctuary, planting 1 million trees native to the King-dom by 2025, and establishing biodiversity protection areas on company land help to ensure support from company stakeholders.

aligning with company prioritiesAnother company objective is to “inten-

sify the focus on safety and protection of the environment.” In 2011, the company’s Board of Directors endorsed the commit-ment to large-scale biodiversity protection such as establishing the Shaybah Wildlife Sanctuary, protecting Arabian Gulf islands, and providing stewardship over Abu Ali Is-land and Tarut Bay.

Environmental Protection Policy INT-05 states that the “company will work toward promoting the conservation of natural bio-diversity within its reservations.” Therefore, by reducing our impact on biodiversity and by designating biodiversity protection ar-eas on Saudi Aramco land, proponents are aligning with international priorities.

Protecting biodiversity on company res-ervations aligns with international priorities established by the United Nations (U.N.), whose four conventions to protect biodi-versity are relevant to Saudi Aramco, includ-ing: (1) Convention on Biological Diversity, (2) Convention on Combating Desertifica-tion, (3) Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species, and (4) Convention on Wetlands. These conventions all support

the protection of biodiversity and important habitats such as jebels, wadis, wetlands, woodlands, and other patches of native vegetation.

The U.N. says the greatest challenges to sustainable development are desertification and biodiversity loss. Desertification occurs through the clearing of land, off-road driv-ing, and excessive firewood collection. By protecting areas of biodiversity, we create seed banks that can help restore surround-ing habitats, thereby promoting sustainable development.

services for freeA functioning ecosystem provides humans

with food, water, and shelter, and helps sta-bilize sand and reduce dust storms, which in turn benefits our health. Wadis and wet-lands help filter out impurities and keep our groundwater reserves clean.

Biodiversity also helps in more subtle ways. For example, one-third of all of Sau-di Arabia’s mammals are bats, which catch millions of flying insects within Saudi Aram-

“green matters” is a regular column offered by the Environmental Protection Department highlighting challenges and potential solutions to some of the most pressing environmental issues of the day.

by Renee Van Huyssteen

According to the Catalyst research company, there are 39 reasons why di-versity matters.* Some include better fi-nancial performance, increased produc-tivity, and higher employee satisfaction.

At Saudi Aramco, we agree that di-versity matters and have been working hard to cultivate a diverse and inclusive workforce. Over the past three years, we have trained close to 500 leaders through “Leading with Inclusion,” a 3½-day course presented by the Wom-en Development and Diversity Division within the Management and Profession-al Development Department. The course covers “Inclusive Leadership,” “Building Inclusive Teams,” “Communicating In-clusively,” “Leveraging Differences,” “Developing Careers,” and “Making Your Leadership Stand Out.”

‘Leading with Inclusion’ According to lead facilitator Michael

Bromby, “Leading with Inclusion” brings the subject matter to life by weaving the unique perspectives, experiences, and opinions of the participants into the learning experience. “This is less of a workshop in the traditional sense and more of an awakening. We hope to launch these leaders on a journey that will ultimately see Saudi Aramco be-

diversity@work‘Leading with Inclusion’ makes big impact

come a more engaging, fulfilling, and in-clusive place to work for everyone,” says Bromby.

This highly interactive course is not only getting rave reviews from participants but also real results as evidenced by the impact plans participants fill in during the first six months after completing the course. One participant said the course was an eye-opener for him. He added the training made him think about the power of diversity for the first time and how it could benefit his division.

As an acting division head, he was deal-ing directly with a team of group leaders — each with a different level of leader-ship skills. He was also dealing indirect-ly with a diverse task force consisting of young to very experienced employees — male and female, Saudi and expat.

The first major diversity insight came while discussing the “Visibility, Access, and Equity” module. “I realized that my face time was limited to a small num-ber of experienced employees, and this was having a detrimental effect on their younger colleagues as they felt discour-aged to start conversations with me,” he says.

With this realization, he set about put-ting a plan in place to rectify the diversity blind spots in his management style.

becoming awareOne of the first things he became

aware of was that, without realizing it, he had always selected the same employ-ees to represent his division in projects at the department level. By expanding his selection pool, he not only lessened the workload on those employees, but also included others who were now motivated to expand their skill set.

He also noticed that he had been ne-glecting some quieter employees who preferred to work alone. This naturally ex-cluded them from projects that required group work. He improved the situation by assigning group tasks to these employees, and for the first time, their unique skills and ideas were fully capitalized upon — another big win for all involved.

With a diversity mindset now firmly part of his management style, he also noticed that no female employees were selected during the annual succession planning re-view for his division. He took swift action to correct the situation, thereby earning himself yet another diversity success.

His journey is just one of many that proves how diversity and inclusion is hav-ing a positive impact on our business. For more information on how your area can get involved, email WDDDPrograms@ex-change.aramco.com.sa.

* http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/diversity-mat-ters

co’s communities. This zero-cost protec-tion from biting insects doesn’t require the use of any chemicals. If we had to pay for this insect control, it would cost millions of dollars.

What’s more, protecting biodiversity is good for the health of our employees. Countless medical trials have demon-strated that spending time in nature reduces stress, depression, tension, and anxiety, and lowers blood pressure. It also increases concentration, happiness, and self-esteem while improving sleep and productivity.

How much money would we spend to live and work in a place where people are happier, calmer, healthier, and more productive? We can achieve this and ob-tain numerous other benefits by simply protecting and restoring biodiversity in the areas around us.

Biodiversity reduces sand movement and dust storms, which enhances human health and reduces the costs of sand management. (Photo: Abdullah Alsuhaibany)

As Saudi Aramco continues to grow, our workforce becomes more diverse. Embracing diversity and working toward inclusion requires role models who are willing to champion inclusion.

June 27, 2018

10 company news

EXPEC Computer Center launches AramcoLink, first app on corporate enterprise mobility

Dhahran — Saudi Aramco’s EXPEC Com-puter Center (ECC), in collaboration with Information Technology (IT), recently cele-brated the launch of Upstream’s first mo-bile application “AramcoLink Mobile” on the corporate Enterprise Mobility Solution.

The event was presided over by Abdullatif A. Al-Ghanim, ECC general manager, and attended by several members of Upstream and IT management and key personnel.

Musab M. Al-Khudiri, acting adminis-trator of the Petroleum Engineering Ap-plications Services Department’s Drilling and Workover (D&WO) Systems Division, opened the inauguration by describing the introduction of the first Upstream mobile solution as a historic moment for the ECC and IT.

Abdullatif A. Al-Ghanim prepares the launch of AramcoLink Mobile during a ceremony held last month, marking the beginning of a new era for ECC applications services and setting a path forward for a new class of apps.

ensuring business continuityProject champion Abdullah A. Sherah

of the D&WO Systems Support Group ex-plained how the AramcoLink app was de-signed to allow Upstream professionals to closely monitor real-time operations “any-where, anytime” from their smartphones or tablets.

Ramzi A. Miyajan, project manager, demonstrated the application’s full capa-bilities and features. The event concluded with a short tour of AramcoLink’s 24/7 Support Center facility.

about AramcoLink MobileAramcoLink Mobile is Saudi Aramco’s

custom-built unified viewer for real-time drilling data visualization and monitoring of a real-time data stream coming from the rig sites. It is a mission-critical solution that is being used by Upstream users and real-time operation centers (Geosteering Operations Center, Real-time Operations Center, Exploration Operations Room, Unconventional Resources Integration Op-erations Center, etc.) around the clock to monitor drilling operations and improve the efficiency of the decision making process. The robust system automates monitoring of drilling and logging operations, and it provides various advanced capabilities for petroleum engineers and geoscientists.

A system with advanced capabilities of data quality control, rescaling, filtering, alerting, and with a highly customized set of visualization tools, is essential to assist operation centers and Upstream depart-ments in Saudi Aramco to meet their tar-gets.

Mobility is a critical component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Aram-coLink Mobile will enable authorized Up-stream users to securely connect to all rig

and rigless real-time logging reports (sur-face sensor, mud logs, logging while drill-ing, measurement while drilling, fracking, microseismic, wireline, well testing, coiled tubing, etc.). AramcoLink Mobile provides this information through smartphone de-vices with easy viewing app capabilities to positively improve timely access to infor-mation, which in turn results in improved decision making during critical real-time operations.

the beginning of an eraThe launch of AramcoLink Mobile marks

the beginning of a new era for ECC appli-cations services and sets the path forward for a new class of applications — the next generation of ECC applications. It also aligns ECC with global mobility and 4IR, as well as the com-pany’s 2020 Strategic Intent and IT’s mobility strategy. Fur-thermore, it will help real-time operation engineers and geoscientists to monitor drilling operations better and improve their effectiveness.

by Abdullah A. Sherah and Ramzi A. Miyajan

The Project Management Office Depart-ment (PMOD) recognizes that continuous improvement in project delivery is not merely a good idea, but a critical necessity to continued business and organizational success.

The need to improve capital efficiency is leading organizations to examine more closely the drivers that influence project performance. One of those key drivers is the effective use of value improving prac-tices (VIPs).

VIPs are strategies, techniques, meth-ods, or procedures that have been proven to significantly improve project perfor-mance in terms of cost, schedule, and op-erability. They are industry best practices that have been adopted from the Con-struction Industry Institute, Project Man-agement Institute, and Save International.

nine VIPsPMOD utilizes a portfolio of nine indus-

try recognized VIPs on a continuous ba-sis throughout the front-end and execu-tion phases of the project life cycle. These practices include value engineering, risk management, lessons learned, planning for startup, and constructibility, among others.

The effectiveness of these practices de-

In a presentation at the opening ceremony, project champion Abdullah A. Sherah highlights the importance of the application, explaining how it will ensure business continuity by allowing Upstream employees to access critical operational information while they are away from their desks.

pends on several factors, including the na-ture of the project, the timing within the project phase at which the practices are applied, the expertise of the individuals responsible for implementing them, and the continuous follow-up in tracking the implementation of recommendations.

The Project Optimization Division (POD) within PMOD is staffed with experienced subject matter experts whose role is to support all projects with the implementa-tion of VIPs. The division’s efforts are also supplemented with approved third-party service providers that support the imple-mentation of VIPs during times of peak demand.

maximizing VIP impactTo continue support of this strategic

need, PMOD recently hosted its Annual Technical Exchange meeting. The event was held at the Technical Exchange Cen-ter in Dhahran and was attended by over 40 local third-party consultants, as well as subject matter experts from PMOD. The theme of the event — “Maximizing the Impact of VIPs” — focused on informing local consultants on the current require-ments of VIP implementation. The work-shop also served to familiarize and on-board the local consultants, to strengthen

communications and understanding, and to lay out the path forward to achieving optimal efficiency.

The keynote speech was delivered by the general supervisor of POD, Abdulrah-man M. Al-Suhaibani, after which POD subject matter experts led by Abdirahman M. Abdi, supervisor of the Value Practices Unit, shared technical presentations about the revised procedures and new guidelines that were developed to standardize and enhance the impact of the VIP workshops.

POD’s experience with VIPs is in align-ment with industry best practices, and the application of VIPs, has a significant im-pact on project efficiency. When projects with high VIP implementation rates are compared to those with low rates, project schedule and cost performance are im-proved by over 12%.

For a capital program the size of Sau-di Aramco’s, the expected cost avoidance that results from the application of VIPs is significant. Therefore, it is critical to en-sure that proper services are provided at the optimum time and with the required expertise. Partnering with local service providers, facilitating their growth and de-velopment, and committing to maximizing the impact of VIPs will enable Saudi Aram-co to achieve the desired optimal results.

Project Management Office Department maximizing the impact of VIPs — value improving practices

Abdulrahman M. Al-Suhaibani delivers the keynote speech during the Project Management Office Department’s Annual Technical Exchange meeting. The event, which was held at the Technical Exchange Center in Dhahran, was attended by 40 local third-party consultants, as well as subject matter experts from the department.

the arabian sun

11company news

Power Systems gives employees a taste of Toastmasters

Dhahran students debate global issues at Model United Nations Conference in Malaysia

Dhahran — Power Systems (PS) recent-ly hosted a Toastmasters event at the Dhahran Technical Exchange Center to strengthen the communication and lead-ership skills of its employees. The theme of the event was “Great Beginnings.”

More than 65 employees attended the

event, including Professional Develop Pro-gram (PDP) employees, senior employees, and administrative staff. The event fo-cused on highlighting the Toastmasters program as an additional training and development tool for all employees to enhance their communication and leader-ship skills.

The event was designed to motivate PS employees to continue the development of their leadership and soft skills within Toastmasters’ creative and supportive en-vironment.

Inspired by the vice president of PS, the event was attended by managers in PS; Mohammad A. Al Qahtani, the 2015 World Champion of Public Speaking; Soli-man Almadi, Toastmasters district leader; and other members of Toastmasters.

The event covered three areas:• An introduction to the Toastmasters

program• A demonstration of a Toastmasters

meeting, with three sessions (prepared speech, table topics, and evaluation)

• Closing remarks and rewards.  “I find that Toastmasters gives many

PDP employees the opportunity to learn, grow, and demonstrate their effective communication and leadership skills,” commented Said Al-Ghamdi. “I encour-age everyone to take advantage of this learning opportunity.”

Organizers of the “Great Beginnings” event at the Dhahran Technical Exchange pose following the event, which was designed to motivate Power Systems employees to continue the development of their soft and leadership skills within Toastmasters’ creative and supportive environment. More than 65 employees attended the event.

Ji Hoon Choi, an eighth grader from Dhahran, represents South Korea at the MYMUN conference in Malaysia. Fourteen Dhahran Middle School students participated in the conference, debating issues such as human rights; the implementation of literacy programs for women to combat inequality; and the question of eradicating poverty.

by Sabahat Rahman and Michael Rucki

This past spring, students from Dhahran Middle School participated in the 15th annu-al Middle School Malaysian Model United Nations (MYMUN) conference. MYMUN is the premier Model United Nations (MUN) conference in Asia, which is attended by over 400 delegates from 12 nations.

what is MUNMUN is an extracurricular activity in

which students role play delegates to the U.N. and simulate U.N. committees. Such conferences typically are hosted at K-12 schools or universities.

Thousands of middle school, high school, and university students around the world participate in MUN as delegates, chairwom-en, and chairmen. The club is a challenging, but rewarding, extracurricular activity that develops a student’s research, public speak-ing, debating, writing skills, and leadership. All conferences and debates are organized and monitored by students, with adults providing a supporting role.

Working in committees (such as the Secu-rity Council or the Economic Social Council), individual delegates use their knowledge of parliamentary procedures to represent

the interests of UN member states or non-governmental organizations. The goal of a committee is to draft resolutions (ac-tion statements) that address global issues facing the world today. Therefore, MUN members must not only understand several complex global issues, but they must also be able to articulate the position of their country or organization.

Michael J. Rucki, one of the MUN direc-tors in Dhahran, believes that “in addition to helping young people explore the com-plexities of international relations, MUN (encourages) students to become better public speakers, negotiators, and critical thinkers. Quite simply, it is one of the most enriching extracurricular activities available to students.”

why Malaysia?The MYMUN conference was organized

around the theme of “Defining Responsibil-ity.” Dhahran delegates representing South Korea, Nigeria, and the World Food Pro-gram, debated issues such as the question of violations of human rights; the imple-mentation of literacy programs for women to combat inequality; and the question of eradicating poverty.

For all 14 students who traveled from Dhahran, the experience was truly life changing.

Ji Hoon Choi, an eighth grader from Dhahran, remarked: “This experience was unlike any other school trip. It helped build friendships and a better connection to the world. Model United Nations is simply amazing.”

Another student on the trip, Connor Nguyen, added: “If I had to sum up the MYMUN experience, I still wouldn’t be able to. The Malaysia Model United Nations changed my life and my view of interna-tional politics.”

“I first joined MUN because I thought it would look good on boarding school appli-cations,” said a senior member of the club,

Sabahat Rahman. “But it quickly became my favorite activity at school. The Malay-sian conference was yet another incredible experience I’ll take with me when I leave Dhahran and go to boarding school.”

what next?Timothy P. Longua, another MUN direc-

tor from Dhahran, believes this year’s con-ference is just the beginning of what’s to come for the MUN program at Saudi Aram-co Expatriate Schools (SAES). “The Mont’Ki-ara conference is reputed as the top middle school MUN conference in Asia, and it lived up to its reputation,” he said. “We will use this experience as a springboard to guide us in building a world-class MUN program at Saudi Aramco Expatriate Schools.”

Although Dhahran has had the MUN club for years now, this is only its second conference abroad. The invitation material-ized as a result of increased efforts to build a stronger and more complete program.

This past year alone, the Dhahran MUN club organized several mini conferences (afternoon events) within the school and participated in the annual Saudi Arabian In-ter-Kingdom Model United Nations (SAIK-MUN) in ‘Udhailiyah.

Moving forward, Rucki and Longua hope to build on the momentum of the MYMUN conference. Next year, the club plans on hosting a conference for all of the SAES schools in the fall, attending SAIK-MUN in Riyadh, and returning to Malaysia in the spring.

In the years to follow, the Dhahran MUN team plans on hosting the SAIK-MUN con-ference.

This year’s MUN students put their best foot forward in Malaysia, and now, Dhah-ran’s Model U.N. club is pushing its bound-aries and working tirelessly to create an outstanding program in Dhahran. Perhaps former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon put it best: “We are here to act ... We are agents of change.”

by Sultan Mohammad

June 27, 2018

12 company news

students get to work on the art of recyclingDhahran — The Recycling Group in the

Gardening and Sanitation Services Depart-ment recently conducted its Ninth Annual Recycling Arts Competition for Saudi Ar-amco Schools.

This year, students were asked to either design a poster that encourages recycling or make a 3-D model with recyclable ma-terials. Winners were chosen based on a number of criteria, including overall im-pression, innovation, originality, and deliv-ery of the recycling message.

Mustafa Hammad, Ifeyinwa Obi, and Zahra Khalifah from the Recycling Group distributed prizes to the winners. The qual-ity of entries was very high, and the Recy-cling Group applauded all the participants for their efforts.

wide participationThe competition, which is designed to

increase awareness of recycling and envi-ronmental stewardship among students, is open to all students in the Saudi Aramco

Expatriate Schools system.Nearly every student in grades 2 through

9 at Abqaiq School participated in this year’s competition, as well as many stu-dents between second and sixth grade from Ras Tanura Elementary School, the Green Team Club, Dhahran Hills Elemen-tary School, and the Helping Hands Club from Dhahran Middle School.

The Recycling Group thanked the third-grade students from Abqaiq who created a video on “Plastic Reduction,” as well as Abqaiq art teacher Tom Rodriguez, Dhahran Hills teachers Cristina Gonzalez and Michelle Gurule, the Helping Hands coordinators from Dhahran Middle School, the second-grade teachers from Ras Tanu-ra, and the principals from Saudi Aramco schools for making their students available and providing them with the necessary support and inspiration during the compe-tition.

The group also congratulated all the par-ticipants and winners for their efforts, and thanked them for taking part in this year’s

competition.Abqaiq winners included Zoya Nadeem,

Namrata Baruah, Blanca Lopez, Nur Izat, Juan Minda, Sophia Pick, Quintina Qi, Krystel Navarro, Emaad Khan, and Maia Silva.

Ras Tanura winners included Monisha Srivastava, Raveesh Umapathy, Sneehardi Nandy, and Asmaa Feradi.

Dhahran winners included Harshini Murugan, Wan Rais Anuar, and Ameenah Abdelrahman.

by Iffy Obi

Abqaiq winners.Ras Tanura winners.

Dhahran winners.

After a disappointing performance last year, no one would have ever thought the Human Resources and Payroll (HR&PR) soccer team would make it past the first round of the Saudi Aramco Soccer Asso-ciation Ramadan Tournament — nobody except the HR&PR team itself.

Dedicated to practicing and developing a strong bond between players, the confi-dent squad entered its first match against the Scouters knowing that the first match would set the tone for the entire tourna-ment.

After a scoreless first half, the squads continued cautiously until HR&PR broke through on a counterattack for the first and only goal of the match, giving them the win and their first three points.

Next up was the Galaxy squad, one of the stronger and more experienced squads in the Eastern Province. Taking advantage of HR&PR’s fatigue and sim-ple mistakes on defense, Galaxy scored consecutive goals and won 2-0. However, even though they lost, the HR&PR squad was excited about their performance and used it to motivate themselves to win their next two games against Al-Safeer and United to secure their position in the second-place group.

In the quarterfinals, HR&PR faced off

by Sami H. Buri

HR&PR wins Ramadan Tournament title

against the Nile team, which had earned third place from the other group. After an uneven first half, HR&PR turned things around in the second and knocked in the winning goal to advance to the next round.

Advancing to the semifinals, HP&PR faced another tough opponent in the re-gion — the 98ers. In a tough match that came down to a penalty shootout, the contest could have gone either way as HR&PR again won and advanced to the finals.

The Human Resources and Payroll squad poses for a photo following their finals victory over Galaxy in the Saudi Aramco Soccer Association’s Ramadan Tournament. The team edged the Galaxy squad, which had beaten them earlier in the tournament.

The finals presented a rematch of its earlier contest against Galaxy. Coming out aggressively, the HP&HR squad man-aged to score off a penalty kick, putting Galaxy on the back of its heels for the re-mainder of the contest. And though Gal-axy increased the pressure in the second half, HR&PR used it to their advantage and scored a second goal. Though Galaxy managed to score once more, HR&PR was able to hold them off to earn the Sau-di Aramco Soccer Association Ramadan Tournament championship.

Dhahran teen pursues Eagle Scout awardDhahran — A Dhahran family wrapped

up the school year by spearheading a Boy Scouts project at bettering the community.

“There’s nothing like it on camp al-ready,” Saxon Weaver says of his Eagle Scout project — a compass rose spanning a three-meter circumference.

Saxon is the son of Matt and Donna Weaver.

Working hard to get his project finished before the end of the school year, Saxon faced the pressure of completing his Eagle Scout project before beginning boarding school at the end of June.

The compass rose will be laid in the grassy area in front of the Boy Scouts House. Made from a variety of marbles

by Jessica Weirmier and granites, it will have the added feature of marking the direction of Makkah on the compass. To find the precise direction of Makkah, Saxon says he enlisted the help of a local imam, who used a magnetic north compass to find the location at 240 degrees.

The projec t needed coordinat ion through Recreation to ensure the dig site wasn’t impeding underground irrigation. He then got permission to dig, order sand, and re-route existing irrigation. A local contractor was enlisted to source mate-rials, and a mason hired to chisel points of direction onto the granite and marble pieces.

The local contractor will also “teach us the skills we’ll need to build this,” he adds.

Saxon Weaver poses with the results of his Eagle Scout project, a compass rose spanning a three-meter circumference. Made from a variety of marbles and granites, the compass also identifies the precise direction of Makkah.

13communitythe arabian sun

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