Siemens opens Abu Dhabi AI and digital centre for oil and gas industries

German technology giant Siemens has opened a new centre in Abu Dhabi to develop digital and artificial intelligence solutions for regional customers in the water and oil and gas industries.

The move is part of a $500 million (Dh1.83 billion) investment plan to expand its presence in the Middle East.

The centre is the second of three in the UAE that will use the company’s MindSphere open cloud Internet of Things operating system to offer specially tailored solutions for customers.

“This new centre allows us to work more closely with our partners than ever before … directly addressing their specific challenges and using digital tools to co-develop tailored solutions,” said Fida Khalil, head of MindSphere Application Centre, Siemens Middle East.

He added that the centre’s purpose is to “merge the virtual world with the real world”.

Earlier this year, Siemens opened its first regional centre in Dubai to cater to the aviation and logistics industries.

The Munich company has 20 MindSphere Application Centres globally designed to develop new business models and industrial applications for its IoT and AI technology.

Siemens, which ranks among the 10 largest software operators globally, is investing aggressively in the research and development and acquisition of software companies.

This is part of an overall strategy for the company to strengthen its position in leveraging data analytics.

The company plans to increase R&D spending by 8 per cent this year to $6.57bn from $5.85bn a year earlier.

Since 2014, the company has increased R&D spending by 40 per cent.

“We recognise the importance of the Middle East’s industrial sector,” said Mr Khalil.

“And we believe the MindSphere Application Centre will play a significant role in accelerating the use of digital technologies in rapidly-expanding industries such as oil and gas and petrochemicals.”