Saudi Aramco inks $90bln US deals amid Trump Gulf tour
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Saudi Aramco secures $90 billion in preliminary deals with top US firms, enhancing cooperation in energy, AI, petrochemicals, and digital transformation.
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Storage tanks are seen at the North Jeddah bulk plant, an Aramco oil facility, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 21, 2021 (AP)
Saudi Aramco announced 34 preliminary agreements with leading US firms on Wednesday, marking one of its most extensive efforts to strengthen commercial relations with the United States, with the potential value of these deals reaching up to $90 billion.
"The US is really a good place to put our investment," Amir Nasser, CEO of Aramco, declared on Tuesday during the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh, as he was announcing deals with the United States liquefied natural gas producer NextDecade and utility company Sempra.
The agreements, valued at $90 billion, stand as one of Aramco's most significant single-day deal announcements with US companies, highlighting the substantial scope of Saudi Arabia's efforts to strengthen strategic economic partnerships with Washington in key sectors, such as energy, technology, and finance.
A Memorandum of Understanding signed with technology leader Nvidia focuses on developing cutting-edge industrial AI infrastructure, which includes plans for an AI hub and an engineering and robotics center, as well as initiatives for workforce training programs.
Aramco also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ExxonMobil to assess a major expansion of their SAMREF refinery, exploring the potential transformation of the facility into an integrated petrochemical complex.
Additionally, Aramco reached a non-binding agreement with Amazon Web Services to collaborate on digital transformation and lower-carbon initiatives.
"Our U.S.-related activities have evolved over the decades, and now include multi-disciplinary R&D, the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, start-up investments, potential collaborations in LNG, and ongoing procurement," the Aramco CEO stated.
US, Gulf ink deals worth billions
Aramco's announcement closely follows Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia on May 13, part of a broader tour of Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, where he aims to secure trillions of dollars in investments and deals.
Among the biggest deals, Google, Datavolt, Oracle, Salesforce, AMD, and Uber will jointly invest $80 billion in the technology sectors of both countries. Saudi firm DataVolt alone plans to invest $20 billion in artificial intelligence data centers and energy infrastructure in the United States.
On defense, the White House highlighted the nearly $142 billion agreement as the largest arms deal ever signed between the two countries.
Qatar, on the other hand, has vowed economic commitments to the US totaling around $1.2 trillion, according to the White House on May 14.
Meanwhile, Trump announced that Qatar Airways inked a deal with Boeing for 160 jets, worth over $200 billion, marking a record order of jets for the American aerospace company. The White House said that Boeing and GE Aerospace landed a deal with Qatar Airways worth $96 billion to acquire up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 777X aircraft, which are powered by GE Aerospace engines.
In the defense sector, Raytheon, an RTX business, landed a $1 billion deal to provide Qatar with counter-drone capabilities, making the Gulf state the first overseas customer for Raytheon's system, while General Atomics reached a $2 billion agreement with Doha for MQ-9B drones.
