The backbone of our offshore operations

• Marine’s function is to help ensure that energy continues to flow from our waters to the global markets
• From exploration to export, Marine offers support at almost every step of our extensive offshore operations 
• Marine also provides logistic support, accommodation, and meals to around 30,000 offshore workers

Aramco operates some of the world’s largest offshore fields spanning the Kingdom’s coastline from the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea.

At the heart of our offshore operations is Aramco’s Marine Department, which collaborates with stakeholders across the organization and manages almost every step of our extensive offshore operations, starting from exploration and drilling to production and oil export. Operating a fleet of over 350 maritime vessels with over 8,000 employees and contractors, Marine also handles offshore crew transfer, environmental remediation, and subsea maintenance and repairs to keep our offshore oil operations running smoothly.

A critical part of the value chain

Our massive offshore projects begin with exploration, for which Marine offers logistical support like providing survey ships to carry out seismic surveys and identifying potential offshore sites. Once a site with oil and gas deposits is identified, Marine offers logistical support by deploying tug boats to position the offshore rigs that weigh thousands of tons so that oil and gas wells can be drilled. During the drilling process, Marine monitors the weather, water current, and waves to ensure that drilling is carried out safely.

Beyond supporting energy production, Marine acts as a service provider, offering transportation, accommodation, and meals to around 30,000 offshore workers, helping to ensure their comfort in challenging conditions. To transport rig crews safely, Marine utilizes a sea bus service that involves two fast crew supply vessels with a combined capacity of 235 passengers and a deck space of 6,318 square feet. The sea bus service, which covers the Safaniya, Manifa, Zuluf, and Marjan offshore fields, transports approximately 55,000 passengers per year.

The Marine team also carries out maintenance work on subsea infrastructure to ensure the smooth flow of oil. Maintenance work involves both preventative and responsive measures — such as quickly fixing a subsea pipe. This is where Marine’s expert diving team comes in, which plays a critical role in underwater inspection, repair, and maintenance of the company’s offshore assets, including barges, vessels, platforms, and pipelines. Each year, our divers run a proactive campaign to inspect 650 kms of our subsea pipelines in addition to 72 platforms — helping prolong the lifecycle of our assets.

Delivering energy to the world

Once oil is produced, Marine takes up the responsibility of delivering energy safely to the world. Tug boats are used to tow tankers into position at our terminals for loading hydrocarbons — a process that can take up to 48 hours. The efficiency of tanker operations plays a key role in maintaining the integrity of the supply chain and meeting energy demands — underscoring Marine’s role in shaping the delivery of energy to the world.

Once loading is finished, the oil tankers are towed away from the terminals by our highly-trained harbor pilots who take up the pivotal task of delivering Aramco’s products from Saudi Arabia to the world.

Another critical operation carried out by Marine is managing the vessel traffic, safely navigating hundreds of vessels carrying hydrocarbons on their way to the international markets to prevent potential collisions in the vast and busy offshore environment.

Aziz S. Qarni
Director of Ras Tanura and Western Region Marine Operations

Digitalization focus

Innovation and digitalization are at the forefront of Marine’s operations, constantly seeking to enhance safety and efficiency.

As of 2024, a digital platform called SmartShip has been installed on approximately 60 marine vessels. SmartShip technology creates a digital twin of the vessel utilizing over 1,000 sensors and artificial intelligence for real-time monitoring, analysis, diagnostics, and troubleshooting of our fleet. Using this technology, we are continuously and rapidly collecting data retrieved from our fleet, allowing us to monitor and assess the performance and energy consumption of our vessels.

Marine deploys underwater robots, which are equipped with tools to inspect our huge subsea asset portfolio, meaning less diver intervention is required, which enhances the overall safety of our operations while assuring asset longevity.

Marine is also making efforts to bring sustainability to its offshore and marine activities. At the Tanajib Marine Facility, for instance, we are implementing the Marine Waste Recycling Program that aims to use offshore waste as raw materials for future products. The Tanajib facility area can be thought of as a city at sea — a place with over 500 assets in nine oil fields where over 170 vessels and several thousand personnel provide the logistical support required to keep the world’s largest offshore oil operation running smoothly. In 2023, the recycling program successfully sorted and recycled more than 1,200 tons of waste materials from the Tanajib facility.