Saudi Arabia needs more young nationals to study a science at university for the kingdom’s Nitaqat localisation programme to succeed, a senior Saudi Aramco official has said.

Speaking at the Middle East Process Engineering Conference (Mepec) in Bahrain, Samir al-Tubayyeb, vice-president of engineering services at Saudi Aramco, called for greater dialogue between companies, such as Aramco, and the country’s universities to develop the talent needed for the petrochemical industry.

“In the chemical industry, innovation can take 15-20 years and we will need young graduates to move the industry forward,” he said. “We need to encourage universities to ensure they have the right courses on offer to address these issues.”

Saudi Aramco has several graduate trainee schemes aimed at encouraging young Saudi nationals to develop a career in the oil and gas industry.

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