Oliver Wyman advises Saudi Aramco in its efforts to create a Big Data and AI unit. The new business unit will aim to leverage advanced data analytics to help the oil giant improve decision-making across its business and profits.
The development of the so-called Global Optimizer unit began in 2022 after a comprehensive reform process within the company launched the previous year. The reform helps Saudi Aramco make major adjustments in its operations and strategic investments, as well as become more agile to respond to market changes.
Oliver Wyman notes that creating more sophisticated business models with the help of units like Global Optimizer can result in an additional $2 in value per barrel of oil before interest and taxes.
As Nadim Haddad, partner and head of oil and gas for India, Middle East and Africa at Oliver Wyman says in the report: “Aramco’s growing global footprint in the downstream sector and Value chain integration presents many opportunities, and building and strengthening a digitally driven and commercially savvy model, such as global optimization, will fully assess and capture these elements.
For Saudi Arabia’s largest company, which sells oil for between $4 and $7 a barrel, this return on investment will translate into massive gains. In its last reported fiscal year, Saudi Aramco reported revenue of more than $535 billion and record net income of approximately $161 billion.
“We have 70 people working on this initiative, and we’re adding more,” Yasser Mufti, Saudi Aramco’s executive vice president of products and customers, said in a rare interview with Reuters.
It seems like nothing can stand in the way of Saudi Aramco, which by some accounts is the most profitable company in the world – and one of the greatest of all time. The company has experienced rapid expansion in recent years.
After investing in several Chinese refineries, Saudi Aramco recently began negotiations to acquire stakes in Shandong Yulong Petrochemical. Aramco also acquired a 40% stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan in December and was planning to enter the gas sector by taking a stake in MidOcean Energy, an LNG company owned by a US investment firm.
It is no surprise that Saudi Aramco is making this important decision in favor of data-driven ways of working, including artificial intelligence. Businesses around the world are increasingly adopting a wide range of AI toolsin hopes of potentially huge benefits for their business models.
Last year, Saudi Aramco was named one of top 50 most innovative companies in the world.
