Week 49 in Review: GPCA, heroism in action, and World Cup keeps rolling

Here are a few of the top articles over the past week.

VIDEO: Amin Nasser touts the importance of materials transition at 16th GPCA

By 2060, the world’s population is expected to reach 10 billion people, meaning demand for materials is also likely to increase considerably.

One crucial component has been largely missing from the net-zero debate; the enormous impact that growth in material use will have on reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

And global net-zero emissions goals will not be met without a successful materials transition.

That was the message Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser delivered in a keynote at the recent GPCA Forum in Riyadh.

Firefighter saves family from flames while on his way to work

The quick actions of a brave Aramco firefighter saved a Dammam family from harm as the vehicle they were traveling in caught fire. 

Ahmed Al Ghamdi was driving to work from his home in the Al-Shula neighborhood in Dammam when the 24-year-old noticed a flame coming from a vehicle in which a family of three adults was riding.

His quick-thinking saw him stop and use his car’s fire extinguisher to douse the fire and save the family from danger.

Al Ghamdi, who has served with the Dhahran Fire Control Unit for two years, then opened the hood and disconnected the vehicle’s battery to bring the emergency under control.

Aramco highlights ‘astronomical’ growth plans at collaborative conference

Significantly increasing Aramco’s petrochemical market share is a company ambition, said global manufacturing vice president Suleman A. Al-Bargan, at a collaborative conference held recently with multinational technology company Honeywell UOP at Aramco’s headquarters.

“The future plans of growth in our Downstream business are astronomical and are truly a game changer in our industry with our ambitious liquid to chemicals plans as part of our move to Vision 2030,” said Al-Bargan, in his welcoming speech to more than 150 participants from Aramco’s downstream wholly owned and affiliate facilities.

“The upcoming plans to upgrade our refineries, build new liquid to chemical assets and expend on our petrochemicals footprint with more integration in all of our assets will strive to double and even triple our footprint in the industry,” he added.

Community Championship registration shows record participation 

With the registration period closing Dec. 8, the Community Championship 2023 is moving one step closer to Qualifying rounds in January 2023. 

This year, more than 7,000 athletes —adults and children, male and female – have registered, a sure sign that this has become a true collective championship. Going forward it will only get bigger and bigger. 

Last year’s Community Championship, the first ever, created momentum that has enabled us to increase participation this year. Considering the size of Aramco’s workforce and the distances between our communities, this was no easy feat and only made possible due to the unwavering support of Community Services. In addition, the outcome of the relentless efforts of the Community Services Integration Office, the many self-directed groups, as well as CS area managers and contributed to a massive increase in participants from all the areas. 

So now begins the fun. The competition moves from registration to qualifying phase in January 2023, where Aramco camps will be competing for a place in the finals from March 3-11.  

VIDEO: Fans react to Morocco’s victory by penalty kicks 

And the 2022 FIFA World Cup continues.

Regional favorite Morocco brought a big crowd to King’s Park for their Tuesday night match against Spain in the knock-out round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and they didn’t disappoint