Saudi Aramco’s Uthmaniyah Gas Plant (UGP) has been recognised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a “Lighthouse” manufacturing facility, a leader in technology applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Saudi Aramco is the first energy company globally to be included in this select group of manufacturing sites. The plant is also the only facility in the Middle East to be recognised by WEF. The gas plant is one of the world’s largest gas processing plants. It was commissioned in 1981 as part of Saudi Aramco’s Master Gas System to process associated gas from oil wells.

The facility is the latest example of Saudi Aramco’s application of Advanced Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to increase productivity while enhancing safety, reliability and efficiency of its operating facilities. The use of drones and wearable technologies to inspect pipelines and machinery has helped cut inspection time by 90 per cent in this industrial facility.

“The recognition of the Uthmaniyah Gas Plant demonstrates Saudi Aramco’s shift to transform and adapt in the rapidly changing global energy landscape. Uthmaniyah is only one part of our large integrated energy value chain where IR 4.0 technologies are playing a critical role to enable significant capital and operational efficiencies,” said Amin H Nasser, chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco.

The seven new facilities join nine other “Manufacturing Lighthouses” which WEF unveiled in September 2018. The 16 factories were selected from an initial list of 1,000 manufacturers based on their successful implementation of cutting-edge technologies of the future.

The “Lighthouse” program was conducted by WEF in collaboration with McKinsey during a year-long study. A study team visited UGP in Saudi Arabia and performed a thorough audit, focusing on UGP’s top Industrial Revolution 4.0 integrated initiatives.