Insider Brief
- Saudi Aramco has developed one of the region’s largest quantum computing emulators, Dammam 7Q, as part of its digital transformation strategy to enhance energy exploration and computational research.
- Built on Aramco’s Dammam 7 supercomputer and powered by NVIDIA’s CUDA-Q platform, the emulator allows researchers to simulate up to 30 qubits per GPU, test hybrid quantum algorithms, and process large seismic datasets used in subsurface imaging.
- Managed by the Upstream Digital Center, the initiative positions Aramco as a leader in hybrid supercomputing research, using quantum emulation to accelerate algorithm development and prepare for future quantum-enabled exploration technologies.
- Image: Aramco Life
Saudi Aramco has built one of the region’s largest quantum computing emulators, a move that signals how the world’s largest oil company is using advanced computing to accelerate its digital transformation and improve energy exploration, according to a company feature story.
The project, called Dammam 7Q, combines Aramco’s existing Dammam 7 supercomputer with NVIDIA’s CUDA-Q platform and high-performance graphical processing units (GPUs) to simulate quantum computing systems and test algorithms that could eventually run on real quantum hardware. Aramco said the emulator allows its scientists to model up to 30 quantum bits (qubits) per GPU, scaling further across multiple GPUs to process massive seismic datasets.
A Step Toward Quantum in Energy
Aramco’s Upstream Digital Center, which oversees digital innovation for the company’s exploration and production operations, developed the system as part of its effort to apply new computing paradigms to energy discovery.
“Driven by the Upstream Digital Transformation, UDC aims to innovate at the frontier with Quantum Computing, through our collaboration with NVIDIA, delivering groundbreaking innovations to harness the power of the Hybrid Supercomputers of tomorrow,” said Ashraf M Al-Tahini, vice president of Upstream Digital Center.
The article described this effort as part of a broader digital transformation strategy to bring quantum capabilities into upstream operations — the part of the business that locates and extracts oil and gas.
Quantum computing differs from traditional computing by processing information in qubits, which can represent multiple states at once rather than the binary 0s and 1s of conventional systems. This allows for certain types of computations — such as optimization or data pattern recognition — to be performed far more efficiently in theory.
Hybrid Supercomputing with Quantum Emulation
Using CUDA-Q, NVIDIA’s open-source quantum development platform, Aramco’s researchers can emulate quantum hardware within the Dammam 7 supercomputer, which already ranks among the most powerful in the world. The collaboration enables the company to design and evaluate quantum algorithms without needing access to an actual quantum processor.
According to the company’s news story, this approach lets researchers explore how hybrid systems — combining CPUs, GPUs, and quantum hardware — might work together to solve complex scientific and industrial problems. Hybrid computing is widely seen as the most practical near-term path toward integrating quantum capabilities into existing workflows.
The company’s scientists have used the emulator to test a quantum Hadamard edge detection algorithm, designed to enhance the resolution of subsurface imaging in seismic data analysis. Detecting faults in 3D seismic models is one of the most computationally demanding tasks in oil exploration, often requiring petabytes of data to be processed. By simulating these algorithms on GPU-accelerated hardware, Aramco’s team can explore whether future quantum systems could deliver sharper and faster geological interpretations.
Building on Dammam 7’s Legacy
The Dammam 7Q initiative draws inspiration from Dammam 7, Aramco’s supercomputer named after Saudi Arabia’s first commercial oil well. The machine, which became operational in 2020, is used for large-scale modeling in reservoir simulation, drilling optimization, and seismic imaging.
The company said extending this platform into quantum emulation continues that legacy of computing-driven innovation. As Aramco explained in the article, the Dammam 7Q project represents a milestone in expanding the frontier of upstream digital capabilities and preparing the company for the quantum era of computing.
Overcoming the Challenges of Quantum Algorithm Design
Designing quantum algorithms remains a difficult task. Unlike classical algorithms, which follow well-understood programming logic, quantum algorithms depend on principles of superposition and entanglement, requiring fundamentally new methods of thinking about computation.
Aramco said in the article that its collaboration with NVIDIA helps address these challenges by allowing developers to test quantum algorithms on conventional supercomputing infrastructure. The company emphasized that running emulations on GPUs provides a realistic environment to experiment with the same types of parallel processing and hybrid task distribution that future quantum systems will rely on.
The NVIDIA CUDA-Q toolkit enables developers to divide workloads between CPUs, GPUs and simulated qubits, allowing for faster prototyping of algorithms that could later be transferred to actual quantum processors when they become commercially available.
Quantum’s Role in Energy and Beyond
Aramco’s push into quantum emulation reflects a growing trend among energy companies seeking to understand how quantum computing could improve discovery, modeling and optimization processes. Quantum approaches are being studied for applications such as subsurface mapping, logistics optimization, and advanced materials design.
The company’s release noted that quantum computing is expected to transform many industries beyond energy, from pharmaceuticals to finance. By developing in-house expertise now, Aramco aims to stay ahead of the technology curve while maintaining its position as a leader in computational geoscience.
Although practical, fault-tolerant quantum computers are still in the future emulation platforms like Dammam 7Q allow scientists to gain experience with quantum algorithms and assess which problems might yield early advantages. The project provides a testing ground for potential hybrid architectures that merge traditional and quantum methods, an approach that could eventually redefine how companies analyze and optimize their operations.
According to Aramco’s article, the Dammam 7Q system achieved an important milestone by successfully detecting 3D seismic faults using quantum-based techniques. The achievement underscores how emulation can deliver tangible progress toward real-world quantum applications, even before fully operational quantum hardware exists.
As part of its ongoing digital transformation strategy, Aramco said it will continue to expand its collaboration with NVIDIA and other partners to refine quantum algorithm development and integrate advanced computing into its exploration and production systems.
“Our work with Aramco shows how transformative applications can be discovered when quantum researchers have the right platform for accessing accelerated computing,” said NVIDIA’s Tim Costa.
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