Saudi Arabian students visit an oil and gas platform in Qingdao, Shandong province, as part of a three-week summer camp, a collaborative effort between China Offshore Oil Engineering Co Ltd, headquartered in Tianjin under the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and oil giant Saudi Aramco. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"The opportunity to participate in the summer camp is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it has been amazing," said Fahad G. Alotaibi, a 32-year-old graduate student from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, who is currently in his second year pursuing a master's degree at Central South University in China.

His comment came during a nearly three-week summer camp that hosted 10 students from Saudi Arabia, as part of a collaborative effort between Tianjin-headquartered China Offshore Oil Engineering Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corp, and oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco.

The camp commenced on July 30 in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, and concluded on Friday. On Tuesday, the students traveled to Tianjin to complete their study and practice program.

The students hail from prestigious institutions such as University of Science and Technology of Beijing, Wuhan University of Technology, Central China Normal University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Central South University.Throughout the summer camp, the students not only gained comprehensive insights into the offshore oil engineering industry but also visited an offshore oil and gas equipment manufacturing base, enhancing their professional knowledge and project management skills. This experience facilitated cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and Saudi Arabia.

During the camp, a significant event took place on Monday — a grand ceremony commemorating the delivery of China's heaviest international offshore oil and gas platform, constructed by COOEC and officially handed over in Qingdao. This milestone represents a breakthrough in the construction technology of large-scale offshore oil and gas equipment in the country.

Weighing 17,000 metric tons, the platform is slated to be transported by a large cargo ship to its installation site 6,400 nautical miles away in Saudi Arabian waters by the end of the month. Once operational there, the platform will contribute to enhancing the Marjan oilfield's production capacity, with annual crude oil production expected to reach 24 million tons.

Alotaibi said the diverse activities in the summer camp provided him with a profound understanding of how international companies with distinct cultural backgrounds collaborate on intricate projects at a micro level.

"The culture reaches you on both professional and personal levels and you can never have such a different perspective from media. It's a very enlightening experience for me and this is why I would say it is amazing," he said, adding that there are quite a few "media sources not showing the best part about China, and some of them even seem prejudiced".

Shumukh Mohammad, a 20-year-old undergraduate student majoring in electrical engineering at Wuhan University of Technology, expressed pride in witnessing engineers and managers from China and Saudi Arabia collaborate on the project.

She said: "I'm so happy and take pride in seeing so many engineers and managers from China and Saudi Arabia work together for this project. Saudi Arabia has a'Vision 2030' strategy and China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, so they are like a shared growth together."

Mohammad intends to further her studies in China after graduation and embark on a career path involving collaborations between China and Saudi Arabia.

Hamad Al-Shaiban, the project representative of Saudi Aramco Marjan Project, said the camp helped to immerse students in ocean culture and cutting-edge Chinese technologies, fostering partnerships between Saudi Aramco and COOEC while nurturing young international talent.