OREANDA-NEWS. October 10, 2012. In the Saudi Aramco constellation, one star shines in the north. It’s called Aramco Overseas Co. B.V. (AOC). Sixty years ago, the company was founded in the Netherlands, and ever since, AOC has been growing, maturing and supporting Saudi Aramco in supplying energy to the world, reported the press-centre of Saudi Aramco.   

AOC celebrated its 60th birthday with its employees at The World Forum Center in The Hague. Saudi Aramco president and CEO Khalid A. Al-Falih attended the celebration personally to thank all AOC employees for their contributions and dedication to Saudi Aramco over the past six decades.

Other special guests included the chairman of the AOC board, Mohammad Al Ali, along with the AOC management team and a number of the company’s retirees. AOC UK colleagues were also part of this special occasion via videoconference.

The celebration started with a presentation on AOC’s past and future by Nabil Aldabal. Aldabal emphasized the strategic role AOC will play in Saudi Aramco’s Accelerated Transformation Program, which, with its capital programs "will mean increased demands on our services."

He said AOC would continue to focus on strengths in its region, in areas such as upstream technology in the North Sea, chemicals in Central Europe and sustainable energy management in Scandinavia. "Other, as yet untapped opportunities might be in Eastern Europe and South Africa," he added.

Al-Falih began his speech by congratulating AOC on its 60-year history and thanking AOC staff for their commitment as true members of the Aramco family.

He also shared his vision and expanded upon the goals of Saudi Aramco’s ATP. "Over the next 10 to 20 years," he said, "we intend to transform Saudi Aramco from the world’s largest oil and gas company into a fully integrated, truly global energy and chemical enterprise with extensive operations throughout the globe."

Aldabal closed by saying: "On behalf of all AOCers, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed, supported and believed in AOC along the road in the past 60 years."