Arabian Sun: Number 46

	YLAB Global
	December 1, 2021	Vol. LXXVI, No. 46	a weekly Aramco publication for employees
	Leaders
	Dialogue series
	"Youth comes with energy,
	and with energy comes ambition."
	HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin
	Salman Al Saud,
	Minister of Energy
See page 2
	A milestone in
	unconventionals
	"This is a pivotal moment
	in the commercialization
	of Saudi Arabia's vast
	unconventional
	resources program."
	President and CEO,
	Amin Nasser
	See page 3

Aramco wins Knowledge Management Excellence Award

See page 5

The Ministry of Human

Resources and Social Development awards Ithra the Mowaamah certification

See page 4

Download aramco LIFE today to stay informed, and more.

December 1, 2021 the arabian sun

Youth2 company newscomes with energy, and with energy comes ambition

As part of YLAB's Global Leaders Dialogue series, Saudi Arabia's Minster of Energy, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, takes time to share his thoughts on leadership with young employees.

By Scott Baldauf

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.

In a panel discussion, moderated by two YLAB members, Wesam A. Al-Zam-

il, a cybersecurity governance specialist, and Mohammed A. Al-Khalid, a Berri Gas Plant engineer, the minister engaged in a dialogue on a range of topics, including leadership, the future of ener- gy, and Saudi Vision 2030. The heart of the dialogue was leadership where the minister focused on the paramount im-

portance of it, and 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.

Lessons of leadership

"Youth comes with energy, and with energy comes ambition," Prince Abdulaziz said, noting that the Ministry of Energy has its own organization to promote the aspirations of its young employees. "You cannot go wrong by reaching out to the youth and asking them, 'What are your dreams, and how would you like to be part of the com- pany's story line?' People need to own what they do, and if they have a sense of ownership, that gets more buy-in, and then you have more assurance that the objectives will be achieved."

Prince Abdulaziz shared inspiring stories from his own days as a young leader, bearing great responsibility at the Ministry of Energy during challenging times

for the Kingdom. "That hot seat taught me so many things," he said. "The best of you can come from being put into the thickest of challenges," he added, and he encouraged young Aramcons to take on challenges that took them out of their comfort zone.

When asked about some of the most important values to uphold to ensure achieving one's goals, he emphasized first on faith and trust, which he said was the biggest pillar that allowed him to be what he is today. The second value is honesty, which he said, "solves 70% of the problems we face." The third value in leadership is hard work. "I wish you all could have walked through life with me, then you would really know that there is no such thing as a free lunch. You have to earn it."

Value of a great team

During the dialogue, it was emphasized that great leaders know the value of a great team, and they surround themselves with people who will succeed with them. They work "together" and not "for each other," and they avoid arrogance and condescension. "Be humble and share that success with others," Prince Abdulaziz advised.

Being humble with one's team does not mean being soft in defending the interests of the company, Prince Abdulaziz said. He urged his young audience to be proactive in finding solutions to difficult challenges.

This engagement was remarkable and left a great impact on the hearts and minds of the young Aramcons, who are now more motivated than ever to proac- tively and innovatively pioneer in tackling the industry's challenges.

Your voice
Professionally interacting with people in your team
	and other employees

By Husin Sitepu

Dhahran

[e-mail]

Your Voice reflects the thoughts and opinions of the writer, and not necessarily those of the pub- lication.

In professionally conducting business at work, it requires effective, produc- tive, and harmonious interpersonal communication skills and technical (hard skills).

Here are a few tips on how to offer effective interpersonal communication skills whether at work or at home.

One of the key points here to achieve the best possible outcome in conducting teamwork is that you need to clearly and precisely describe the scope and objective for each proj- ects. Therefore, each team member will clearly understand his/her specific tasks and time frame along with the expectations. To make it even better, you need to then ask each team member if they understand what is expected of them. Second, give everyone a chance to provide

their opinion on his/her specific task.

If any issue appears, clearly and politely provide time for the team member to voice the issue. When you disagree with the idea of one of the team members - who might be very pleased with himself or herself - first cool-down and always avoid minimizing any unnecessary arguments with him or her. Maintain your professionalism!

It has scientifically been proven that fostering effective, polite, and clear communication of the scope and objectives of the assigned tasks along with the expectations, make people more comfortable in carrying out their tasks in a timely manner. One important additional point is that to have effective two way communication, one needs to be an attentive listener. Good communication between the speaker and

listeners is therefore anchored on cour- tesy.

It is true that the team members may not fully understand the topic of the speaker. Therefore, the members should never be afraid to ask the speaker to clarify his or her understanding about the key points described in the talk. This can avoid any confusion, and show you that the team members understand what the exact message is.

By maintaining both your soft skills and hard skills on a day-to-day basis, whether at work or at home, and communicating your ideas will build trust, respect, and openness between you and other people. Also, clearly, effec- tively, and properly communicate the specific tasks so that all team members know exactly what is required from him or her to deliver results as needed.

the arabian sun December 1, 2021

Aramco awards contracts worth $10 billion company news 3 to develop vast Jafurah field

On Monday, Aramco announced the start of the development of the vast Jafu- rah 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 bil- lion, with capital expenditure at Jafurah expected to reach $68 billion over the first 10 years of development.

A major expansion

It is a significant milestone both for the commercialization of unconventional resources in Saudi Arabia and the expansion of Aramco's integrated gas portfolio,

	Production
	expected to reach	With an estimated
	up to 2 billion
Company anticipates	200 trillion
more than	scfd of sales gas,
$100 billion	418 million	standard cubic feet
of gas in place,
total overall life cycle	scfd of ethane and around	the Jafurah basin hosts
Jafurah.	630,000 barrels	shale gas play in
investment at		the largest liquid-rich
	per day of gas liquids	the Middle East.
	and condensates
	by 2030.

which will provide additional feedstock to support growth of the company's high value chemicals business, complement its focus on low carbon hydrogen produc- tion, and help reduce emissions in the domestic power sector by providing a cleaner burning alternative to liquid fuel.

With an estimated 200 trillion standard cubic feet of gas in place, the Jafurah basin hosts the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East. This shale play covers an area measuring 17,000 km2, and production of natural gas at Jafurah is expected to ramp up from 200 million standard cubic feet per day (scfd) in 2025 to reach a sustainable gas rate of 2 billion scfd of sales gas by 2030, with 418 million scfd of ethane and around 630,000 barrels per day of gas liquids and conden- sates, which are essential feedstock for the growing petrochemical industry.

HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said: "I would like to thank the Custodian of The Two Holy

It is a breakthrough that few outside the Kingdom thought was possible, and which has positive implications for energy security, economic development, and climate protection.

- Amin Nasser

Waad

Al-Shamal

North Arabia	Jubail
Dammam
	Al Hofuf
	Riyadh	Jafurah
	South	Basin
	Ghawar

Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, for their ongoing support of the Kingdom's energy sector.

"The development of Jafurah will positively contribute to the Kingdom's energy mix, and it has been made possible thanks to close cooperation between more than 17 different agencies. The government is committed to the empowerment of national companies such as Aramco, and no other energy company in the world is empowered to the same extent by the state, or by the Ministry of Energy, which oversees the concession to develop the King- dom's hydrocarbon resources."

Creating hundreds of thousands of jobs

The project is a key component of the company's long-term strategy and Aram- co expects total overall life cycle investment at Jafurah to exceed $100 billion. Through its unconventional gas program at the Jafurah, North Arabia, and South Ghawar fields, the company expects to create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco president and CEO, said: "This is a pivotal moment in the commercialization of Saudi Arabia's vast unconventional resources program. It is a breakthrough that few outside the Kingdom thought was possible, and which has positive implications for energy security, economic development, and climate protection.

"Gas has a critical role to play in the energy transition, and it will help to significantly reduce emissions in the domestic energy sector, while providing a feedstock for low carbon hydrogen and ammonia. It will also allow Aramco to tap into high value feedstocks for use in the expanding Downstream petrochemicals

industry and our goal is to significantly increase our gas production capacity over the next decade to meet demand growth."

An integral piece in pursuing a net-zero target

Aramco recently announced its ambition to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its wholly owned operated assets by 2050. Jafurah is expected to contribute to Saudi Arabia's goal of producing half of its electricity from gas and half from renewables as the Kingdom pursues its own 2060 net-zero target.

At peak production, Aramco's unconventional gas program is expected to replace approximately half a million barrels of crude oil per day that would otherwise have been used for domestic consump- tion. The Jafurah gas development alone is expected to replace more than 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day at peak pro- duction.

Nasir K. Al-Naimi, Aramco's Upstream senior vice president, said: "The development of Jafurah is a game changer for our Unconventional Resources program. It will be one of the most modern, cost-effective shale development schemes in the industry and observe the highest environmental and safety standards.

"Jafurah will be a key enabler of our ambitions moving forward, and we continue to explore new fields, reevaluate existing ones, and evaluate potential joint investment opportunities in both natural gas and natural gas liquids as we pursue our goal of developing an integrated global gas portfolio to meet long-term energy and petrochemicals demand," Al- Naimi added.

$10 billion in contracts awarded

Aramco has awarded 16 subsurface and

The development of Jafurah will positively contribute to the Kingdom's energy mix and it has been made possible thanks to close co-operation between more than 17 different agencies.

- HRH Prince Abdulaziz

bin Salman Al Saud,

Minister of Energy

EPC contracts valued at $10 billion for the Jafurah Gas Plant and gas compression facilities, as well as infrastructure and related surface facilities. These contracts were awarded to domestic and international service companies and involve several projects to enable the development of subsurface and surface components of the Jafurah program. This is in line with the company's efforts to support development of the domestic energy sector and local supply chain partners.

This will allow for the reliable delivery of gas and condensates through a dedicated surface network that includes a gas processing plant, a gas compression system and network of around 1,500 km of main transfer pipelines, flow lines, and gas gathering pipelines. The program also includes construction of the Jafurah Bulk Supply Point, transmission lines, power interconnection for the Jafurah Gas Plant and new cogeneration plant facilities.

The benefits of Saudi Aramco's unconventional program will ripple out into the Kingdom's economy in tangible ways. Cranes lower well intervention tools into the hole of a well site in the Jafurah field last year.

	December 1, 2021		the arabian sun
Safety legacy on display at international conference
4	company news

By Judith Talbot

Aramco played a key role at the recent Occupational Safety and Health International Conference in Riyadh. Hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, this event was used as an opportunity to launch a new virtual platform aimed at protecting the labor force through stringent regulation of occupational safety and health (OSH) standards in the Kingdom.

Opened by His Excellency Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, this event brought together five themes based on contributing factors to OSH. It focused on international trends related to occupational medicine, the adoption of modern applications and technologies to improve workplace standards, the importance of mental health and well-being, the private sector's role in developing OSH regulations, and the importance of risk management in maintaining workplace safety.

Core safety management

The structure and working of some of the company's core safety management systems were presented by three Loss Prevention (LP) engineers, providing a 360-degree view on essential components in building a strong OSH program.

Aramco's experience in developing and integrating such systems was demonstrated by LP's Mark Fields; his presentation establishing the importance of developing Global Safety Management Systems, and underlining that a secure safety management system (SMS) is the foundation for a successful, strategic safety culture.

A focus on the importance and impact of programs Kingdomwide to raise OSH performance was clearly seen in Faisal A. Shathri's deep dive into the compa- ny's Contractor Safety Management Pro- gram, established to ensure minimum safety standards and expectations from contractors are both clearly defined and demonstrably met.

Munirah M. AlSubait's authoritative insight into Aramco's Building Code Evaluation clarified how integrating core SMS strategies and standards into work procedures can ensure OSH objectives are achieved and remain robust.

"These systems have become the foundation of our safety management," said Zaher M. Tayeb, head of LP's Global Safety Assessment and Compliance Divi- sion. "We continue to review and refine these systems and the fact that many

businesses are replicating these systems and processes - especially within Saudi Arabia - is testament to the success of our safety journey to date."

Technologies on display

Drawing a significant proportion of the 2,700 attendees who visited the exhibition over the three days, Aramco's booth displayed a range of safety-related technologies, including an inspection drone used in confined spaces, as well as a hands-free headset - inclusive of video screen and audio connection - that enables direct communication between site personnel and office-based safety subject matter experts.

Visitors also had the opportunity to participate in some immersive virtual reality safety training that allowed users access into simulated Aramco work en-

Ghassan G. Abulfaraj is joined by Khalid K. Al Mulhim, executive director of Corporate Affairs, as he provides His Excellency Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, with an overview of Aramco's role in ensuring its support of the Kingdom's occupational safety and health initiatives.

vironments to identify common hazards in areas such as construction sites, work- shops, and oil-gas separation plants.

Loss Prevention's publication - Saudi Aramco and the Art of Safety - drew widespread attention from attendees for the unique and engaging manner in which it presents 80 years of safety com- munication.

"It was a privilege to be part of this exciting event, which will undoubtedly benefit personnel working within the Kingdom," said Ghassan G. Abulfaraj, chief loss prevention engineer. "Events such as this underline the clear commitment to OSH by the Saudi government, and these initiatives will enable Aramco to contribute and share in the Kingdom's overall development and integration of standards, regardless of the industry in- volved."

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development awards Ithra the Mowaamah certification

The Ministry of Human Resources and	Mowaamah is one of the Ministry	Pride and honor	written publications to enrich their
Social Development has announced that	of Human Resources and Social De-	minds and skills.
the King Abdulaziz Center for World	velopment's programs launched to	Ithra's division head of the Opera-
Culture (Ithra) has obtained a Gold	realize the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's	tions Division, Mohammad S. Al-Rabiah,	The Center is distinguished by provid-
Mowaamah certification for the acces-	vision to guarantee the rights of those	expressed his pride and the honor for	ing training opportunities for a large
sible ecosystem the Center provides to	with special needs. It strives to enable	Ithra in being awarded this accredita-	number of people with special needs; by
support persons with special needs in	them to obtain suitable job opportu-	tion for complying with the standards	carrying out a variety of interactive ac-
accordance with their required stan-	nities and to provide them with all fa-	and requirements of people with special	tivities, as well as integrating them into
dards and needs. Throughout the year,	cilities and tools needed to succeed.	needs.	the center's voluntary programs and
Ithra has offered a number of initiatives,	The program also strives to motivate		providing them with multiple opportu-
events, and workshops to support the	establishments to provide appropriate	The Center also seeks to elevate the	nities.
ambitions and talents of those with spe-	environments for them by adhering to	level of services provided to people with
cial needs in addition to providing them	specific standards and requirements.	special needs through newly developed
with services that guarantee their rights	This enables establishments to obtain	innovative programs and events that are
such as transportation, access to facilities	the necessary license to employ their	offered throughout the year. It offered
and parking spaces, as well as providing	skills, ensuring their independence	various programs such as "Dialogue in
services in Braille to facilitate reading for	and integration as active members of	the Dark," which was presented by a
both blind and visually impaired people.	society.	group of blind and visually impaired in-
		dividuals to all participants of the inter-
		active exhibition, which included other
		activities such as dinning and various
		creative workshops. Ithra also provided
		support to the blind during the Chil-
		dren's Book Fair by offering them Braille

prove the overall level of inspection.

Major Achievements

the arabian sun December 1, 2021

Aramco Asia holds forum to enhance quality awarenesscompany news 5

In the presence of more than 130 participants from Japan, Korea, Chi- na, India, Singapore, and Southeast Asia, Aramco Asia Engineering and Technical Services (E&TS) recently hosted the annual quality exchange meeting with seven accredited inspection agencies. It was held virtually to ensure work safety and participants' health.

This year, the forum featured the theme of "Sustainability: Improving our products, people, and planet." In his opening remarks, Omar M. Al-Amudi, Representative director of Aramco Asia-Japan, emphasized the importance of adopting and deploying new inspection technologies with the highest level of inspection services to address future manufacturing and engineering challenges.

Omar M. Al-Amudi (center, front row), Representative director of Aramco Asia-Japan, joined the quality professionals for a group photo after the Quality Exchange Forum in Tokyo, Japan.

collaboration between Aramco Asia and the inspection agencies.

Commenting on the forum, Anwar	Yasser S. Al-Subhi, Aramco Asia	Representatives from seven inspec-
Quality Management head, provided	tion agencies shared their best prac-	Aramco Asia E&TS vice president
A. Al Hejazi, president of Aramco	information on the vision and mission	tices, lessons learned, challenges,	Mohammad W. Al-Qahtani concluded
Asia, said, "It is always a great plea-	of corporate quality management, in-	and area of improvement in terms of	the event by encouraging the partner-
sure to host the annual quality ex-	spection services, challenges, and mit-	eight elements from the Inspection	ing inspection agencies to maintain
change meeting. We have a strong	igation plans for all functions across	Agency Performance Index, rang-	top-notch inspection services, and
commitment to quality inspection that	the Asia Pacific region.	ing from the Work Order assignment	emphasized the importance to en-
is built on our cooperation, mutual		process to inspector qualification	sure quality engineers and inspection
respect, and shared values. The event	The forum also highlighted this	process.	agencies receive all the support need-
today sends a clear message to our	year's major achievements, new tech-	Top-notch inspection	ed to maintain good performance.
partners that we are fully committed	nologies, and upcoming services. Jin-
to developing long-term partnerships	Mi Jung, Quality Management coordi-	This event is part of a continuous
with our major quality service provid-	nator from Aramco Korea, presented	These presentations provided a	effort by E&TS to improve contractor
ers to ensure a safe working environ-	overall inspection agency perfor-	valuable venue to pursue the highest	services, elevate quality awareness,
ment and operational excellence."	ma ces and recommendations to im-	level of inspection services through	and address ommon issues.

Aramco wins Knowledge Management Excellence Award

Aramco's Project Management Office Department (PMOD) knowledge management process has been recognized by the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) as one of the top 5% of participating companies. More than 300 global companies were assessed, 58 of which were from the petroleum and chemical industry.

APQC is a leading global authority in knowledge management benchmark- ing, best practices, and process improve- ment.

Knowledge Management

In 2010, PMOD established its knowledge management process, which serves as a repository for all knowledge captured from company projects. The system includes documentation of successful processes and ones that failed with lessons learned. PMOD's project knowledge management process also

provides teams with precedents that assist them in coming up with solutions for new and old problems.

In 2017, PMOD's strategy became aligned with the then newly established corporate policy statement, requesting all departments to develop a systematic approach of creating, capturing, organiz- ing, disseminating, and providing access to corporate intellectual capital to drive business gain, obtain competitive advan- tage, and to become a learning organi- zation.

Access to information and expertise

PMOD proceeded to integrate the established knowledge management processes with its employees' day-to-day activities by assigning a goal to each em- ployee.

Additionally, PMOD's employees were encouraged to actively participate in the PMOD Services Community of Practice (CoP).

PMOD assigned subject matter experts (SMEs) to support the CoP, and these SMEs received email notifications of any discussions related to their area of ex- pertise. This ensured that an appropriate response was provided to questions that were raised on the CoP.

Engaging and recognizing employees

PMOD publishes a "Knowledge Mo- ment" on its CoP every month, in which one of the SMEs explains a key term in

project management. The PMOD team is also promoting innovation through the knowledge management system by encouraging its CoP community to focus on project challenges and to seek solutions that can be submitted through the company "Innovation Portal" for review, ap- proval, and implementation.

In conjunction with these endeavors, PMOD launched a recognition program to ensure that employees are motivated and recognized for their participation in knowledge sharing processes. This recognition is provided by the PMOD manager on a quarterly basis to top contributors.

Continuing to develop

PMOD has continued its efforts with the development and enhancement of several technology applications to enhance and optimize project performance. Among these applications, the Lessons Learned Knowledge Base and the Project Risk Management Engine were developed within the VIPs Hub, a new single knowledge sharing platform.

Finally, PMOD continues to engage in benchmarking exercises to identify areas for improvement and see the results of adopting best-in-class knowledge management processes.

"The PMOD knowledge management program helped us elevate the de- partment's performance," said Sami S. Al-Shubaibi, PMOD manager. "This recognition is a testimony to the great efforts of the team who qualified because they were able to show real business im- pact."

The company was recognized by the American Productivity and Quality Center with the 2021 Excellence in Knowledge Management Award.

Sami S. Al-Shubaibi.