On November 3, 2025, the TRANS Research Group invited Mr. Daniel De Castro, a Senior Economist and Strategic Planning Expert at Saudi Aramco, to deliver an academic lecture titled “Saudi Aramco—From Macro Trends to Strategy: Mapping the Future Blueprint for Technology and Innovation.”
About the Speaker: Daniel De Castro (British) is a Senior Economist and Strategic Planning Expert at Saudi Aramco, with over eighteen years of international experience spanning the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. He has long focused on research and practice in the intersecting fields of economics, energy and commodity markets, geopolitics, and low-carbon technologies within the energy transition. Currently, Daniel serves as the Head of “Technology Outlook and Strategy” at Saudi Aramco, where he is responsible for identifying emerging macro trends, policy movements, and technological evolutions affecting the global energy industry. Based on these insights, he provides strategic and economic expertise and leads the formulation of the company’s long-term technology development strategy. Prior to this, he was a Senior Economist at Southern Company, where he led corporate-level economic analysis and provided direct decision-making recommendations on economic strategy and market trends to the CEO. Earlier in his career, Daniel worked at IHS Global Insight in London, providing strategic consulting services to leading international companies in the energy, chemical, and mining industries. Daniel possesses a profound academic background, having studied economics and public policy at world-renowned institutions such as the Harvard Kennedy School, the London School of Economics (LSE), and Universidad de los Andes, and has participated in multiple executive education programs.
About Saudi Aramco: Saudi Aramco is one of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization and a leading integrated energy and chemicals enterprise headquartered in Saudi Arabia. Its operations encompass oil and gas exploration and production, refining, petrochemicals, and international trade, boasting the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves and production levels. Saudi Aramco is committed to advancing the energy transition and developing low-carbon solutions through technological innovation, serving as a key participant and strategic leader in the global energy industry.