Aramco Signs French Agreements With Potential Value Above $3.7 Billion

By Farhan Rafid

DOHA, Qatar-Saudi Aramco signed agreements with French companies with a potential combined value of more than $3.7 billion, as Saudi Arabia and France moved to deepen investment ties during a business roundtable in Paris on Monday.

The agreements include a corporate procurement agreement for drilling equipment and a purchase agreement for oil-country tubular goods, while Aramco Digital signed an memorandum of understanding covering potential cooperation in industrial artificial intelligence, virtual and digital-twin technologies and related applications in the oil-and-gas sector, Aramco said.

Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser attended the French-Saudi Investment Roundtable, where the agreements were announced. The company said the partnerships are aimed at strengthening its supply chain, improving operational continuity and efficiency, and expanding technology transfer and innovation.

The roundtable, held during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to France, brought together senior government officials and executives from both countries and focused on financing major developments, industrial partnerships, transport and logistics, and artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.

Saudi Investment Minister Fahad Al-Saif said French direct-investment in the kingdom reached EUR16.3 billion in 2024, doubling over five years and making France Saudi Arabia's fourth-largest source of foreign direct investment. French investors hold more than 650 investment licenses across 18 sectors.

French Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the relationship was moving beyond sales of French products and services toward joint production, pointing to energy and logistics security and the alignment between Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and France 2030.

Saudi Arabia has been seeking greater private and foreign investment to help finance its economic transformation as pressure on government finances has increased. Foreign investment reached $35.5 billion in 2025, well below the kingdom's longer-term goal of $100 billion annually, The Wall Street Journal reported in April.

Write to Farhan Rafid at farhan.rafid@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 24, 2026 15:40 ET (19:40 GMT)