Establishing Dhahran as a major venue for applied research, quality assurance and special laboratory services, Saudi Aramco’s new Research and Development center will, upon the completion of phase II now under construction, provide more than 33,000 square meters of state-of-the-art laboratory space.

In addition to studies that support the company’s oil and gas operations, such as lab measurements of oil displacement in the giant Ghawar field, Saudi Aramco will also focus on projects that protect the use of oil as a transportation fuel and enhance its image as an environmentally reasonable choice. Company scientists are studying ways to remove sulphur from the typical hydrocarbon chains of transportation fuels such as gasoline and to promote the use of liquid hydrocarbons as the fuel of choice.
The company is also studying ways to increase demand for bulk chemicals that use hydrocarbon fuels and feedstocks by encouraging further development in plastics, fibers, films and cloth. These products will, in turn, foster long-term growth and development of the Saudi economy by providing jobs in product manufacturing.
Phase I of the project was inaugurated in early 2001. The finished complex will accomadate 400 employees with laboratories and facilities to keep Saudi Aramco at the leading edge of petroleum research.