ABU DHABI National Oil Company (Adnoc) and SAP have signed a long-term strategic partnership agreement for the transformation of Adnoc’s Information Technology services and business processes.

The agreement was announced at the 17th Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) that kicked off at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre under the theme Challenges and Opportunities for the Next 30 Years.

The long-term agreement will provide Adnoc with a range of key business solutions addressing Adnoc’s exploration and production, marketing and refinery, finance, human resources, procurement, and supply chain management requirements built on a common platform for Adnoc and its Group of Companies.

Darwish Abdulla Al Qubaisi, director of Shared & Technical Services Directorate in Adnoc says: “Our vision is to transform Adnoc into an innovative hub to support the Adnoc long term strategy which is in line with ‘Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.’ Information Technology is a major enabler in this strategy.”

“The partnership with SAP will strengthen our capabilities and help us to build the business solutions for the future of Abu Dhabi. Strong efforts and commitments have been made on both sides to achieve this agreement. I’m confident that we will see the benefits very soon,” concludes Al Qubaisi.

One of the world’s leading oil and gas companies, Adnoc produces more than 2.8 million barrels of crude oil per day. By having a $40 billion investment in crude, natural gas, petrochemical, and refinery projects that started few years ago and due for completion soon, Adnoc will help to enhance the UAE’s energy production capacity and economy. The UAE is the world’s second largest exporter of petroleum products by value, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

“The strategic corporate agreement with SAP is the foundation for Adnoc and its Group of Companies to implement streamlined and innovative business solutions. These solutions will enable us to provide world-class IT services for Adnoc and Group companies,” says Nada Al Hashmi, manager of Information Systems & Technology Division in Adnoc.

“The first projects will kick-off soon to reap the benefits of this strategic cooperation. This significant deal is part of a series of partnerships we intend to establish with leading international IT companies to enable innovative IT services in the oil and gas industry in the UAE,” says Al Hashmi.

With education key to fulfilling the UAE’s growing need for a strong local workforce to sustain the country’s energy sector, SAP Education Services would build in-house capabilities and skills at Adnoc which are aligned with Adnoc plans establishing its Centre of Excellence for IT Professionals, adds Al Hashmi.

George Riding, chief financial officer of SAP Middle East and North Africa, says: “This agreement extends our longstanding partnership with Adnoc, and our goal of driving innovation in the oil and gas sector.”

“By helping Adnoc to run simple, and developing the technology skills of the workforce of the future, together we will drive the UAE’s Networked Economy by harnessing this hyper-connectivity to provide greater flexibility and value to their customers,” adds Riding.

Adnoc is the main sponsor of Adipec 2014, where the announcement was unveiled, and SAP is serving as the Associate Partner and Executive Seminar Sponsor of the Middle East Petroleum Club – an exclusive private business club for the oil and gas industry’s leaders.

For more than 40 years, SAP has helped to transform the global oil and gas industry, with more than 1 million industry users deploying digital oil field operations, predictive maintenance, mobile workforce, and talent management. All of the oil and gas companies in the Global Fortune 500 run on SAP.