Rebounding oil prices signal the moment for Saudi oil and gas firms to invest in technology innovation, supporting Saudi Vision 2030 and driving nearly $300 billion in oil exports, industry experts announced Wednesday. The Kingdom is the world's largest petroleum exporter, producing 10 million barrels per day, and is taking on increased global importance with the drop in oil production by several major Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Saudi oil exports are worth over $285 billion per year. Saudi Vision 2030 aims to increase localization of the oil and gas sectors from 40 percent to 75 percent, double natural gas production, and construct a national natural gas distribution network. "In this era of rebounding oil and gas prices, Saudi energy firms have the potential to be global leaders in using technology to drive business innovation, and support the Saudi Vision 2030 goals of a stronger and more efficient oil and gas sector," said Ahmed Al Faifi, Managing Director of Saudi Arabia for global technology company SAP. The Middle East hosts a $540 billion pipeline of oil and gas capital projects, according to a recent PWC report. Oil and gas companies are increasingly turning to technology to enhance project time and budgets, especially with the Brent crude oil price rebounding to about $45/barrel. "Saudi energy firms can use real-time insights to manage production, maintenance, engineering, and financials, and develop long-term budgets that save time, money, and resources. In particular, oil and gas procurement can gain the depth, accuracy, and transparency needed to deliver projects on time and on budget," added Ahmed Al Faifi. Worldwide, many oil and gas firms are using the cloud-based Ariba Network to enhance procurement, with up to 30 percent savings by managing spending and suppliers, the financial supply chain, and e-commerce. Ariba, the world's largest business network, traded $740 billion in commerce in 2015. Demonstrating Ariba's potential in energy, American waste management firm Clean Harbors Inc. has used Ariba to increase e-commerce by 48 percent, and reduce invoicing costs by nearly one-third. On Ariba, Clean Harbors Inc. counts $216 billion in transaction spend with 30,000 customers. Worldwide, more than 800 oil and gas companies are using SAP solutions, including 85 percent of the Forbes 2000 oil and gas companies.
