AOC at a glance

Expertise in every area

AOC provides the highest level of cost-effective and timely services to Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and our sister affiliates to ensure they fulfill their mission to provide energy to the world.

We provide purchasing and logistics, inspection, engineering, research and technology, IT, finance, legal, public relations, HR, international staffing and executive services administered from the AOC headquarters in The Hague and from our satellite offices in Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, China and the United Kingdom.

AOC holds interests in hydrocarbon refining companies in Asia as well as storage and terminal facilities in the Netherlands.

We are truly global. Our area of operations include: Europe, Africa, South America, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East; excluding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and North America.

A growing influence

Aramco Overseas Company was established as the Aramco Purchasing Company in 1948 under the laws of the state of Delaware. Its first headquarters was established in Rome, Italy, with the primary function of providing procurement and technical services to Saudi Aramco’s operations in the Kingdom.

In 1950, the name was changed to what it is known as today: Aramco Overseas Company. Two years later, the decision was made to move the office to The Hague, where it was officially registered on December 1, 1952, and where it stayed for more than 30 years. The move to Leiden in 1984 consolidated AOC’s operations, which were previously scattered in five offices in The Hague. The company was transformed into a limited liability company (BV) under Dutch Laws in 1989. In 2009, AOC relocated back to The Hague.

Over the years, AOC operated offices in Beirut, Cairo, London, Rome, Sydney, South Korea and Singapore, providing purchasing and related services according to Saudi Aramco’s requirements. With the exclusion of Saudi Arabia and North America, AOC today provides support to Saudi Aramco’s operations all over the world. In addition, the company’s steadfast support to Saudi Aramco has broadened to include finance, law, human resources, recruitment and public relations services – testimony to AOC’s reputation for total reliability throughout the years.

Partnership in action

A key role of AOC is to identify and partner in technical programs which will allow the Saudi Aramco enterprise to benefit from technological developments. Examples of three such relationships currently enabled through AOC are The Energy Institute, WIB (International Instrument Association User), and NWP (the Netherlands Water Partnership).