In collaboration with Saudi Aramco, KAUST hosted an Upstream Petroleum Symposium on the University's campus on November 13-14.

The symposium highlighted state-of-the-art and recent developments in understanding fluid flow and recovery in conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon systems, and helped to identify unique challenges and opportunities for fundamental and solution-driven collaborative research in the field.

Over 30 upstream specialists, including academics from KAUST and other international universities and industry, joined Saudi Aramco's upstream petroleum experts to present on critical issues in this important field.

"Working with the best across the world is part of our University's culture," said KAUST President Jean-Lou Chameau in his opening remarks at the event. "In our collaborative work with Saudi Aramco, we expect to aim high and try to solve important questions and problems in the upstream petroleum field."

Dr. Ding Zhu, Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University and a speaker at the event, noted she was "excited to attend the conference to help create international collaborations between research units around the world, and work as teams to develop new technologies."

"Saudi Arabia is a key component in the world energy equation, and KAUST is a preeminent institution in the region," said Dr. William Fleckenstein, Professor of Petroleum Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and speaker at the symposium. "I was honored to attend the event for these reasons."

Amin H. Nasser, Senior Vice President of Upstream Operations at Saudi Aramco, noted in his opening remarks that advances in upstream research are extremely important for Saudi Aramco.

"Saudi Aramco's vision is to become a global integrated energy and chemicals company by the end of this decade," he stated. "Among our top initiatives, we are committed to…making energy more accessible in the future. Innovation, competent talent and cutting-edge technology are the drivers to meet future energy demand. Working with KAUST will help us meet our future challenges, and we consider KAUST as a vast repository of talent, novel ideas and innovation. When it comes to pursing game-changers and exploring new frontiers across oil and gas technologies, we know we are in the right place."

Dr. Hossein Kazemi, Chesebro' Distinguished Chair in Petroleum Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and a speaker at the event, said he hoped the symposium would promote international collaboration. "I believe KAUST can partner with other institutions to advance outstanding ideas for the good of mankind," he stated.