Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, one of the world's leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and TWTG, a pioneer in Industrial Internet of Things (I-IoT) solutions, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The MoU, formally announced by TWTG this week, was signed late last year at the Global Industrial Internet of Things Summit (GIITS) in Dammam, a city in the Eastern Province region of Saudi Arabia. The two companies say it heralds a transformative collaboration and is a significant stride towards advancing Aramco's digital transformation of Saudi Arabia's industrial landscape.
Aramco, known for its pivotal role in the global oil and gas industry, is embracing digital transformation as a means to enhance operational efficiency, prioritise safety and reduce its carbon footprint.
The company has in fact established a subsidiary dedicated to designing and deploying cutting-edge digital solutions that harness the latest Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to optimise operations and drive smarter work practices.
TWTG says it has emerged as a market leader in I-IoT solutions, boasting IECEx/ATEX certification for its NEON Sensors, based on LoRaWAN.
ATEX or IECEx-certified products are essential in any location that may contain, or has activities that produce, explosive or potentially explosive atmospheres, an important consideration for a company like Aramco.
The LoRaWAN specification is one of a number of a low power, wide area (LPWA) networking protocols targeting key Internet of Things (IoT) requirements such as bi-directional communication, end-to-end security, mobility and localisation services.
Recently, TWTG secured country-specific certifications that enable the extensive deployment of NEON solutions in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Aramco is currently testing NEON devices at a number of sites.