Week 49 in Review: A major milestone in unconventional, the Minister of Energy speaks with YLAB members, and accessibility gold at Ithra

Here are some of the most important articles from the past week of Aramco LIFE. 

Aramco awards contracts worth $10 billion to develop vast Jafurah field 

Aramco on Monday announced the start of development of the vast Jafurah unconventional gas field, the largest nonassociated gas field in Saudi Arabia. The company has awarded subsurface and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts worth $10 billion, with capital expenditure at Jafurah expected to reach $68 billion over the first 10 years of development. 

It is a significant milestone both for the commercialization of unconventional resources in Saudi Arabia and the expansion of Aramco’s integrated gas portfolio, which will provide additional feedstock to support growth of the company’s high-value chemicals business, complement its focus on low-carbon hydrogen production, and help reduce emissions in the domestic power sector by providing a cleaner-burning alternative to liquid fuel.  

It will make Saudi Arabia one of the world’s largest natural gas producers. 

HRH Prince Abdulaziz: Youth comes with energy, and with energy comes ambition 

The global energy industry continues to face strategic challenges, whose solutions will almost certainly come from tapping into the creativity of talented, ambitious, and energized Saudi youth. 

This was the message of Saudi Arabia’s Minster of Energy, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, during his engagement with Aramco’s youth at the Global Leaders Dialogue, a series of encounters with local and global leaders organized by Aramco’s Young Leaders Advisory Board (YLAB). The Global Leaders Dialogue is a platform that empowers the youth of Aramco to engage with role models across various industries, to obtain firsthand advice and lessons learned, embodying learning through engagements. More than 120 young employees from across the company attended the dialogue, held at the Plaza Center in Dhahran.  

The heart of the dialogue focused on the need for youth to take ownership and be proactive in addressing global challenges, and also for leaders to trust and empower the youth to tackle such challenges. 

Ithra earns Gold Mowaamah certification 

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has announced that the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) has obtained a Gold Mowaamah certification for the accessible ecosystem Ithra provides to support people with special needs. 

Throughout the year, Ithra has offered a number of initiatives, events, and workshops to support the ambitions and talents of those with special needs, in addition to providing them with services that guarantee their rights such as transportation, access to facilities, and parking spaces, as well as providing services in Braille to facilitate reading for both blind and visually impaired people.

Mowaamah is one of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development’s programs launched to realize the Kingdom’s vision to guarantee the rights of those with special needs. It strives to enable them to obtain suitable job opportunities and to provide them with all facilities and tools needed to succeed.  

Three-day Feel the Burn challenge highlights firefighters’ remarkable abilities 

The Fire Protection Department’s (FrPD) three-day 2021 Feel the Burn Firefighter Challenge at Ithra showcased the phenomenal abilities of firefighters who protect our community around the clock. And the strongest of them was recognized as “the Toughest Firefighter Alive.” 

Twelve teams comprising of 120 competitors represented firefighters from all over the Kingdom. The Invitational Firefighter Challenge saw firefighters compete from Aramco, the Civil Defense, Aramco’s joint venture (JVs) companies, Petro Rabigh, YASREF, SAMREF, and SATORP. At the same time, FrPD’s Divisional Firefighter Challenge pitted Aramco firefighters from Abqaiq, Dhahran/Riyadh, the Northern Remote Area, Ras Tanura, ‘Udhailiyah, and the Western Region Divisions, against each other.  

Firefighters completed physically demanding challenges at breakneck speed with ages ranging from the 20 to 50+ plus age group. The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Challenge saw lightning fast firefighters donning firefighter clothing and equipment and undergoing grueling skills-based trials. The Stair Run Challenge saw firefighters ascend 13 floors (300+ steps) of Ithra while weighed down by more than 34 kg of equipment.  

Aramco program looks to enhance contractor well-being 

Aramco’s Contractor Well-Being Program will enhance well-being within both the worksite and the accommodation through key deliverables, including introduction of compliance requirements, training, assessments, awareness resources, and counseling services. 

The program is administered and coordinated by Environmental Protection (EP), which sets standards and ensures compliance, provides training to company representatives, and develops resources. EP also works with proponent department representatives who interface with their assigned contractor company’s staff to develop a well-being network of formal and informal representatives both within Aramco and the contractor workforce.