2025 Aramco Supplier Forum boosts global partnerships

The 2025 Doing Business with Aramco supplier forum, held recently in Houston and organized by Aramco Americas Procurement & Supply Chain Management (P&SCM) alongside the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, marked its ninth year, solidifying its role as a key gathering to explore global partnerships and help drive sector innovation.

Khush Choksy, senior vice president of Middle East at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opened the forum with insights from a visit to the Aramco Houston Research Center. He highlighted the innovative work and scale of Aramco's leading projects, hoping the forum would lead to more successful business stories for U.S. companies.

Ammar Mubarak, director of P&SCM at Aramco Americas, welcomed attendees and emphasized the company's commitment to value-creating partnerships. He underscored the growth and collaboration that have defined Aramco's relationships with North and South American partners over the years.

Collaborating to advance the industry

Khalid AlHajri, vice president of Procurement at Aramco, delivered a keynote address to over 250 industry attendees and business associates, highlighting Aramco’s world-class projects and the essential role of collaboration in driving innovation. AlHajri emphasized the importance each industry member plays, both large and small, in helping meet the world’s growing energy demands with affordable, reliable, and lower-carbon solutions.

"We are dedicated to serving communities around the globe who rely on the vital energy we supply. To do this, we seek partners who share our values; driving innovation and excellence in everything they do," said AlHajri.

He noted Aramco's capital investments, with last year's expenditures reaching USD $50.4 billion — a 19.3% increase from the previous year. The company expects capital investments to continue in 2025, including upstream, downstream, and midstream projects, as well as materials, technology, and new energies.

Exploring rewarding opportunities

A special video message from Jim Sindle, U.S. Consul General in Dhahran, underscored the strong ties between U.S. businesses and the Kingdom, highlighting the long history of American companies working with global partners to advance the future of energy.

The forum continued with a series of presentations by Aramco experts. Sameer Yousef, strategic sourcing manager at Aramco Americas, detailed how the Houston-based Aramco Americas P&SCM team provides procurement, logistics, and materials management services, with a network of over 10,000 American vendors. Meshal AlAnbar, procurement manager at Aramco Americas, highlighted Aramco's In-Kingdom Total Value Add (iktva) program.

A panel discussion followed, featuring Aramco experts addressing questions and discussing unconventional resources opportunities and gas projects, among other topics of interest.

Speaking next, Satish Gadde, senior project director at KBR, shared an overview of the longstanding partnership between KBR and Aramco. He highlighted their innovative projects and continuous push for improvement.

Driving shared prosperity

The forum concluded with one-on-one breakout sessions, providing over 60 participants with the opportunity to ask questions specific to their offerings.

The Aramco Americas P&SCM team organizes multiple forums annually to strengthen Aramco’s network and advance collaboration. Aramco's dedication to excellence and innovation is highlighted by its valued partnerships in the U.S. and the Americas. These relationships enable Aramco and its partners to achieve successful outcomes and help deliver the energy that powers communities and businesses globally.