Case Study of Aramco

Companies have many departments, each contributing to their development. The relationship among such units is of vital importance to the growth of any business nowadays. Research has showed how professionalism is linked to business success. In addition, it is important to notice that most companies working in the same field require different levels of professionalism and education due to varying management strategies, or types of ownership,  private or state.

Aramco is a company that has been operating for more than eighty years (“Saudi Aramco Selects KBR for Shaybah FEED Work,” 2009). It is situated in Saudi Arabia and is owned by the state. The organization specifically deals with oil products, drilling and exporting. In fact, it is one of the biggest exporters of petroleum products in the world with the biggest spare of crude oil. Most of the countries use crude oil drilled by the company. They have massive production of 9.54 million barrels a day with most of them being exported, while reserves are approximated to be about 261.6 billion barrels (Saudi Aramco, 2016). Aramco does not only deal with oil, but it is one of the biggest gas production companies in the world. It approximates its gas volume to be almost 294 trillion standard cubic feet (“Saudi Aramco Selects KBR for Shaybah FEED Work,” 2009). Company history dates back to the 1930s, when the corporation made its first agreement and started its drilling operations. The company had so much enthusiasm starting with around 240 employees during its startup (Mandeya, 2016). When the business had grown, the number of workers increased. By 1939, the company had developed massively in its working force with more than 3000 Saudis, around 300 Americans and almost 150 employees of other nationalities (Pledge, Dialdin, & Tahlawi, 1998). Due to this development, in the same year, Aramco managed to export its first crude oil shipment in a tanker. The company developed even more with time. In the 1940s, it opened a refinery, which was closed due to shortages. It was not caused by a market failure, but the world war at that time. The company started to embark on large agricultural projects to maintain its revenue after the war had paralyzed the oil industry (Pledge, Dialdin, & Tahlawi, 1998). In the 1950s, the company discovered the largest offshore oil reserve and hired Saudi directors for management positions. Aramco had developed systematically until the 1980s, when the Saudi Arabian government fully purchased the company (“Saudi Aramco Selects KBR for Shaybah FEED Work,” 2009). Organizational control had improved until it became the biggest oil exporter. During that period, it funded a lot of non-profit schemes, such as schools and health facilities. In fact, Aramco contributed to the eradication of malaria in the country and increased its employee output (“Saudi Aramco Selects KBR for Shaybah FEED Work,” 2009).

It is quite difficult to evaluate the size of Aramco since it is an extensive corporation owned by the state. It has many assets and is believed to have a great potential to improve even more. Some of the parameters used to assess the size of the company is the number of its employees. As a group alone, Aramco is believed to have more than 10,000 workers (Mandeya, 2016). However, the figure is underestimated to determine the ranking and the level of the company. Since Aramco is a multi-international firm with many branches, it is difficult to estimate the exact value of its worth, though it is approximated to range between $US 1.25-10 trillion (Nawwab, Speers, & Hoye, 1980). The company is said to be one of the well-paying firms, maintaining a good employee relation considering it has workers from all over the world. Most of them are from Saudi Arabia, but Aramco also has international workers. They have programs for employees with talents, whereby they are rewarded more, and their skills are appreciated.

A refining economics specialist is not an ordinary job since it is present in countries and organizations that drill oil only. In simple words, an economist is usually a financial advisor to a company. His objective is to make sure that the business runs with the lowest cost of production to achieve maximum revenue (Saudi Aramco, 2016). An interview of a refining economist specialist in Aramco has elicited that he advises the management and the state on how the company can drill oil and maximize on revenue. He also has the mandate to set short-term goals according to market demands and long-term objectives based on the analysis and speculation. The oil industry is quite a challenging market; therefore, the economist must be good in analysis being able to speculate prices well. He should also be an expert at investments, since he is expected to advise the government on particular investment opportunities. An ordinary economist can work as a refining economics specialist after enhanced training, and with time, his experience will help him in the industry.

The interviewee at Aramco has indicated that for one to be hired as a refining economist, he or she has to have attained the required standards. First, the person has two alternatives, including obtaining a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering or a master’s degree in economics or other relevant field. Secondly, the person must have experience in the field. Aramco has quite strict rules concerning the latter with a high standard entailing fifteen years in the area of refining, five years in the field of modeling and focusing on the oil sector, and ten years of general experience in the whole field (Saudi Aramco, 2016). Some of the responsibilities are more general, such as monitoring and managing the staff, maintaining a safe and healthy relationship with companies in the same area, and being a company representative in ad hoc meetings and seminars. Some are simpler such as analyzing and benchmarking company performance with time and communicating to the management concerning financial constraints and abilities in a precise manner. It explains a high level of professionalism required by the corporation. In addition, in interviewee’s opinion, some of the responsibilities of the refining economist specialist at Aramco are complex and require more skills, such as evaluating the economy and having the capability to forecast future projects, modeling the market and focusing on prices, as well as speculating on the behavior of the market according to the model (Saudi Aramco, 2016). Therefore, this position needs a lot of skills, since it is one of the primary pillars of the company.

How It Works

In conclusion, the Aramco Company Limited is a big business with top-notch employees to help it succeed. It will continue to grow to its enormous reserve sizes and high demand for its products. Aramco has maintained high requirements for most of its employee treated in a suitable manner. They enjoy salary benefits and bonuses, including financed holidays provided by the company. In addition, employees get a full insurance cover and good pension saving schemes. Furthermore, given an opportunity to work for the company, one can receive vast knowledge and experience. As a result, a person can develop his career more and even acquire better skills. However, since the company deals with a big market, the job of the refining economics specialist may prove to be stressful, challenging and tiresome. In addition, it may require someone with high geographic mobility due to numerous branches and international projects.