Brief History of Saudi Aramco
Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest oil producer and most profitable company. Based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, it raised $12 billion in its debut bond sale in 2019. Founded in 1933, it has a long and fascinating history.
In the ensuing decades that followed, Saudi Aramco evolved into an oil production juggernaut, with a reach that extended across Saudi Arabia.
By 1949, the company had achieved a remarkable milestone, producing 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day. To facilitate this staggering output, it constructed the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, then the world’s longest.
The Saudi Arabian government acquired Saudi Aramco in 1973 and gradually gained full ownership by the late 1970s.
The company expanded into nonmetallic and crude-to-chemical products under the leadership of Amin H. Nasser and Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan.
In 2017, Saudi Aramco acquired North America’s largest single-site crude oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. Saudi Aramco’s IPO in 2019 raised $25.6 billion, but it was a controversial move due to its valuation and geopolitical implications.
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Full Details of Saudi Aramco Blockchain’s Investment
In the heart of the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a groundbreaking partnership between the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, Saudi Arabian Oil Group (commonly known as Saudi Aramco), and the innovative Web3 technology provider, droppGroup, was set in motion.
This huge collaboration marked a significant step towards harnessing the potential of blockchain technology in the energy sector.
Saudi Aramco, with a staggering market value nearing $2 trillion, had long been at the forefront of industry innovation.
In 2020, the company made a strategic move by investing $5 million in VAKT, a blockchain-based commodities post-trade processing platform.
The new partnership with droppGroup signaled Aramco’s continued dedication to pioneering the adoption of blockchain solutions within its operations.
Moreover, the partnership would create a tokenized network and rewards program, offering Aramco employees new incentives and opportunities.
DroppGroup, headquartered in New York with a significant presence in Saudi Arabia, brought a formidable technological arsenal to the table. Their tech stack included artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), extended reality (XR), tokenized networks, and even metaverse environments.
This blend of technologies, combined with Aramco’s vast resources and expertise in the energy sector, promised a fruitful synergy.
For Saudi Aramco, embracing blockchain technology was not just about innovation; it was a strategic move to enhance efficiency, safety, and sustainability across their operations. Their vision was to become the leading digitalized energy company globally, and blockchain played a pivotal role in achieving this ambitious goal.
The Saudi Aramco Blockchain investment was geared towards reinventing and standardizing various business processes, with the ultimate aim of boosting productivity and generating cost savings throughout the organization.
Aramco’s holistic adoption strategy for blockchain technology consisted of four key streams: building solutions, consuming available sources, joining consortiums, and investing in startups.
To encourage and prepare its business partners for blockchain adoption, Aramco has committed significant resources. In partnership with IBM, they launched a corporate blockchain platform, enabling the scalable deployment of blockchain solutions.
Saudi Aramco’s commitment to blockchain extended beyond financial investments.
They also collaborated with the World Economic Forum to pilot the organization’s blockchain deployment toolkit, solidifying their position as pioneers in this transformative technology.
credits: Coindesk, Insidetelecom