SES signs up Saudi’s Aramco for MEO
March 13, 2024
By Chris Forrester
Satellite operator SES has signed an MoU with Saudi Arabia’s giant oil and natural gas producer Aramco. As at 2022 Aramco was the second largest company in the world based on revenue. It is based in Dharan in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.
The MoU sees SES and Aramco explore potential collaboration opportunities for leveraging high-performance medium-Earth orbiting (MEO) satellite connectivity services, to accelerate Aramco’s digital transformation goals with 5G backhauling for their remote sites in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East.
SES is busy adding new MEO craft in the shape of its mPOWER fleet. Its mPOWER 5 and 6 were launched in November 2023 and are coming online about now. mPOWER 7 and 8 will launch this year with 4 more to be launched by 2026.
The signing was announced by Adel Al Doulab, VP/Information Technology Infrastructure, Aramco, and Nick Roullier, VP/Middle East & Central Asia, SES, on the side-lines of the Riyadh LEAP 2024 conference, marking what the pair say a is a pivotal step in digitalising the operations of the energy industry.