Borouge International Targets $100 Million From AI by 2027 and Signs Microsoft Deal

The company announced the target on 5 November. It said it wants to become an "AI-native company" and that the programme will cover production, innovation, supply chain, logistics and customer engagement. At the exhibition, Borouge International and its subsidiaries signed strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Emerson, Immensa and Cognite. The announcements available to Nakoda did not say which subsidiary signed each agreement or what each one covers.

The plan shows how the merged group intends to use its size. Borouge International brings together Borouge, Borealis and NOVA Chemicals, which operate in the Middle East, Europe and North America. The company calls its approach "build once, scale globally": it proves a technology at one site and then rolls it out across the rest of its operations.

The main example is a real-time optimisation system at its UAE facilities. The company describes it as the world's largest. It covers three large ethane crackers and 20 furnaces, and analyses more than 2,500 operating parameters every minute. Borouge International said the system has led to faster decisions, higher productivity, lower energy use and lower emissions. It will now be extended to facilities worldwide, including what the company called key sites in North America.

The group is also pursuing autonomous plant operations. Earlier this year it completed a proof of concept with Honeywell at its Ruwais facility, testing AI-run operations in a live production environment. The company said the trial showed potential gains of up to 20% in efficiency, a 20% cut in downtime and up to 15% lower operating costs. It describes these figures as potential gains, not results achieved across the plant. Borouge has said it is working towards what it calls the petrochemical industry's first AI-driven control room.

The programme also uses machine learning for forecasting, digital twins for predictive maintenance and 3D printing for spare parts and supply chain work. The company said the overall goals are higher availability and productivity, better decision-making, an improved customer experience and strong health, safety and environmental standards.

"AI and digitalization are central to how we are building Borouge International," said Dr Hasan Karam, the chief operating officer, who is also executive sponsor of the AI and digitalisation programme. He said it would make the company more agile and competitive.

The $100 million goal is much smaller than the figure Borouge set for its earlier AI, Digitalisation and Technology programme, which targeted $575 million in value generation in 2025. The company has not said how the new target relates to that earlier one. It has also not said how the value is measured or when the optimisation system will go live outside the UAE.