Saudi Aramco logo and stock graph are seen through a magnifier displayed in this illustration taken September 4, 2022.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Saudi Aramco said on Wednesday it had signed 34 preliminary deals with major U.S. companies, potentially worth up to $90 billion in a push to deepen commercial ties with the United States on the back of President Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom.
The announcement was made a day after Riyadh pledged $600 billion in U.S. investments.
Still, most tie-ups listed by the state oil giant were memorandums of understanding without a value attached. Some deals have also been previously announced, such as the agreement to buy 1.2 million tons of LNG per year for a 20-year term from NextDecade.
The agreements underscore Saudi Arabia’s efforts to strengthen its energy partnerships and attract foreign investment as it looks to balance oil dominance with broader industrial and technological growth under Vision 2030.
“The U.S. is really a good place to put our investment,” Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on Tuesday at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh.
The forum coincided with Trump’s four-day tour of the Gulf, marked by lavish receptions and a series of business deals, including $142 billion in arms agreements.
Aramco is the economic backbone of Saudi Arabia, generating a bulk of the kingdom’s revenue through oil exports and funding its ambitious Vision 2030 diversification drive.
Its shares have fallen almost 9% this year.
Flurry of signing
The company said the agreements, struck through its Aramco Group Companies, aim to build on its longstanding ties with U.S. companies, enhance shareholder value, and expand collaboration in energy and other strategic sectors.
A memorandum of understanding with tech heavyweight Nvidia aims to establish advanced industrial AI infrastructure, including an AI Hub, an engineering and robotics center, and workforce training programs.
Aramco also signed an MoU with ExxonMobil to evaluate a significant upgrade to their SAMREF refinery, with plans to expand it into an integrated petrochemical complex.
It also inked a non-binding agreement with Amazon Web Services to collaborate on digital transformation and lower-carbon initiatives, while an MoU with Qualcomm focuses on collaboration in enhancing industrial networks and AI capabilities.
“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,” Nasser said in a statement.
Aramco said on Tuesday it would invest $3.4 billion to expand the Motiva refinery in Texas.
Beyond energy, the state oil giant has become a key vehicle for industrial development, digital transformation, and foreign investment.
It expanded existing relationships with several high-profile U.S. suppliers including SLB, Baker Hughes, GE Vernova and Honeywell.
On the financial services front, it has forged agreements with asset management giants PIMCO, State Street Corporation and Wellington.
It also signed a deal for short-term cash investments through a unified investment fund, named ‘Fund of One’, with financial heavyweights BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and PIMCO.