Saudi Aramco urges long-term R&D investments in oil and gas

Most research and development (R&D) investment in the petroleum sector is focused on “quick pay-outs,” but the industry needs a longer-term approach, a Saudi Aramco executive said at a conference in Bahrain.

In his keynote speech at the 13th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition (GEO 2018), Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, Saudi Aramco senior VP of Upstream, cautioned that the industry is falling for "immediate gratification".

“Unfortunately, much of petroleum R&D investment is in shorter-term improvements with quick pay-outs, as opposed to groundbreaking research. And while incremental improvement plays a role, investing solely in low-hanging fruit and short-term pay-offs will fall short of transformation,” Al-Qahtani said.

Saudi Aramco is making long-term technological investments that are increasing discovery and recovery, reducing costs, enhancing safety and protecting the environment, he noted.

Some of the technologies Al-Qahtani highlighted included Spice Rack, a robotics-based innovation that increases data acquisition by 50 percent while cutting costs by 30 percent; and AI and Deep Learning processes that determine rock types and geological features for better well placement and field development.