Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) has announced 28 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) totaling more than $1 billion for proposed R&D collaborations in advanced materials and technologies, according to a press release.

The agreements, which were unveiled during the 19th Middle East Corrosion Conference & Exhibition (MECC) in Dhahran, will also serve the establishment and localization of manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia besides collaborations for workforce training and development.

Senior Aramco executives shed lights on the transformational potential of AI, its role in overcoming long-established issues related to corrosion, and the possibilities it presents for developing innovative new materials on an industrial scale.

Among the top officials was Ahmad O. Al Khowaiter, Aramco Executive Vice President of Technology and Innovation, who said: “Worldwide, across all industries, it is projected that corrosion costs roughly $3 trillion per year, representing about 3% of global GDP.”

Al Khowaiter elaborated: “Studies indicate that close to $1 trillion per year in savings can be realized by applying AI and other corrosion control technologies. Behind every dollar lost to corrosion is increased risk. Risk to the safety of our colleagues, risk to the integrity of our environment and risk to the reliability of energy supply which billions of people depend on.”

He added: “AI gives us the power to predict failures before they occur, optimize maintenance schedules and extend the productive life of critical assets... We believe that with the right technology, the right talent and the right partnerships, we can transform our industry and set new global standards for this new AI age.”

Meanwhile, the MECC event’s host, Wail A. Al Jaafari, Aramco Executive Vice President of Technical Services, inaugurated and commented on the company’s investments in corrosion by saying: “In the past three years alone, Aramco has invested more than $70 million in corrosion management technologies, achieving over $770 million in cost savings and avoidance."

Al Jaafari noted: “AI-powered solutions are now anticipating corrosion before it happens, leveraging a vast network of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors across our facilities and pipelines. These sensors provide more than 10 million corrosion-monitoring readings annually across over 40 facilities.”

He concluded: “Our ambition does not stop at Aramco’s facilities. We are combining our domain expertise and intellectual property with AI to develop advanced solutions that can benefit the entire energy and industrial community.”

It is worth noting that the Saudi oil giant delivered strong financial performance during the first nine months (9M) of 2025.