The U.S.-Saudi Business Council, in partnership with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY), successfully organized an executive roundtable on June 26, 2025, in Houston, Texas, titled “Enabling and Accelerating Opportunities for U.S. Companies in Saudi Arabia’s Industrial Sector.” Held alongside the Carbon Capture Technology Expo, the program brought together high-level U.S. company representatives for an executive discussion with H.E. Eng. Khalid Alsalem, President of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, and senior officials from the Ministry of Energy and the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF). The roundtable featured keynote remarks by H.E. Eng. Al-Salem and presentations from Baraa Sairafi (RCJY), Eng. Humam Al Ghamdi (Ministry of Energy), and Ahmed Al-Qamizi (SIDF), each highlighting sector-specific opportunities and investment incentives available to U.S. firms seeking to expand into Saudi Arabia.
The program provided attendees with a deep dive into Saudi Arabia’s evolving industrial ecosystem, including regulatory frameworks, financing tools, and infrastructure offerings in RCJY’s four industrial cities. The event concluded with a Q&A session, a networking lunch, and 48 one-on-one business meetings, allowing U.S. participants to engage directly with the Saudi delegation.
After the roundtable, a number of one-on-one meetings took place between the RCJY delegation and American company representatives. This provided a private forum for companies to discuss their questions and concerns directly with the delegation. Several companies participating in the roundtable have indicated an interest in continuing discussions on investing in Saudi Arabia or partnering with the RCJY. These series of meetings were followed by visits from the delegation to the booths of U.S. companies exhibiting at the expo to give the delegation a chance to view demonstrations and examples of the innovative technologies and products offered by U.S. companies in the carbon capture industry.
As part of their visit, the RCJY team were hosted by ExxonMobil and Bechtel for onsite meetings at each company’s respective offices in Houston. ExxonMobil and Bechtel each have a decades-long presence in the Kingdom and are longstanding Council members, in addition to holding Board seats of the Council.
After the roundtable and events at the expo, the U.S.-Saudi Business Council organized a high-level site visit to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, for the RCJY, led by H.E. Eng. Khalid Alsalem. The visit included a series of discussions with professors, faculty members, and university leadership from multiple departments, including carbon capture research, engineering, and private sector engagement and workforce development.
The university’s program was led by Dr. Henry Fadamiro, Associate Vice President for Research, Strategic Initiatives; Dr. Arul Jayaraman, Executive Associate Dean of the College of Engineering; and Dr. Faisal Khan, Department Head, Chemical Engineering. The program was hosted and organized by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), a state agency part of the university system that conducts applied engineering research, supports workforce development through education and training programs, and collaborates with industry partners on the development and commercialization of university-based technologies.
Dr. Fadamiro and his colleagues provided an overview of Texas A&M’s institutional priorities, including the advancement of strategic research initiatives and efforts to promote public and private sector partnerships across the state. Dr. Fadamiro and his colleagues, Dr. Arul Jayaraman and Dr. Faisal Khan, also discussed innovations such as AI research, and technical infrastructure investments.
H.E. Alsalem delivered remarks on behalf of RCJY, highlighting shared areas of interest between the RCJY and the university. The Texas A&M research faculty then presented an in-depth overview of the university’s Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) work. Professors and tenured researchers from the departments of Petroleum Engineering, Geothermal Energy Systems, Chemical Engineering, and Gas & Fuels Research described their strategy for advancing CCUS research through a systems-level, holistic approach grounded in modeling and analysis. The university staff discussed how they employ supercomputers to support this research, with active focus areas including carbon filtration, energy security, and process optimization.
The university also presented on its global workforce development programs, emphasizing how it supports students throughout the educational and career pipeline. Highlighting their global reach and influence, Texas A&M currently maintains 864 formal international agreements and has 1,100 students studying abroad in 36 countries. In addition, university staff highlighted longstanding collaboration with Saudi institutions such as the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). These partnerships span joint research in chemical engineering, artificial intelligence, and safety and security.
The visit also included a meeting between H.E. Alsalem and a group of Texas A&M’s Saudi exchange students from KFUPM and other Saudi institutions. H.E. engaged with the students on the significance of their educational experience in the United States and the role of their program in deepening U.S.-Saudi collaboration, people-to-people ties, and mutual economic development.
The RCJY and the U.S.-Saudi Business Council have a long-standing collaborative partnership. A key goal of this partnership is to help the RCJY establish contact and deepen relationships with American companies that are potential investors in Saudi Arabia. The RCJY, with the help of the Council, interacts with American companies to share information, address concerns, and ultimately promote Saudi Arabia as an investment destination. To learn more about the RCJY or for help contacting them for opportunities available to U.S. companies, contact the U.S.-Saudi Business Council today.
