Joint Innovation Center for Smarter Energy Solutions Inaugurated in Dhahran Techno Valley

Huawei—a global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider—has launched a new Joint Innovation Center (JIC) in Saudi Arabia together with Saudi Aramco and King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). 

Located in Dhahran Techno Valley Innovation Center, the Center will be dedicated to the Oil & Gas industry, jointly working with the world’s leading Oil & Gas company Saudi Aramco and leading University King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals. The Center is committed to enabling ICT technologies for the Oil & Gas industry, leveraging on Huawei technologies and global partners’ expertise to meet customers’ specific requirements. Huawei is also working with leading partners such as Honeywell, Schlumberger, GE, Yokogawa, SAP, and other leaders to develop solutions with full cooperation.

The inauguration ceremony at the Oil and Gas Joint Innovation Center was attended by senior executives from Saudi Aramco, KFUPM, and various partners companies, as well experts from other leading technical, engineering and energy service firms.

“Middle East is a strategic region for Huawei’s global footprint. We have 15 years of local experience and have become the leading ICT infrastructure provider,” says Mr. Yan Lida, President of Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group. “By understanding the massive transformation happening amongst different industry customers, Huawei has launched Business Driven ICT Infrastructure (BDII) as a guiding principle of our Enterprise Business in order to address these challenges.”

“Business is the source of power to determine ICT needs and will ultimately drive ICT infrastructure changes. The key to BDII lies in “Ecosystem-based Innovation”, which is reflected in three ways: customers’ business innovations, partner’ industrial application innovations, and Huawei’s ICT infrastructure innovations. Huawei will focus on ICT infrastructure that includes cloud computing, pipe, and devices,” Lida adds.

The JIC will focus on Digital & Intelligent Oil Fields, Digital Pipelines, Intelligent Refineries, High Performance Computing, Big Data, Mobility, Safety & Security, Cloud Computing, and Energy Management. The JIC will also play a key role in knowledge sharing of broad technical industry areas through structured training and knowledge transfer programs that can effectively add value to Saudi Aramco, KFUPM, and other Oil & Gas Companies, as well as partners.

Within Saudi Arabia, Huawei has supported similar knowledge-sharing initiatives such as its Annual Seeds for the Future education program, which offers select students each year the opportunity to develop practical skills that will prepare them for a career in the ICT industry.