Saudi Arabia to establish world's largest carbon capture and storage hub
SLB, Aramco, and Linde have entered a collaborative agreement to establish one of the world's largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) hubs in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The project aims to capture and store up to nine million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, with construction anticipated to be completed by the end of 2027. Further phases are planned to expand the hub's capacity.
The captured CO2 will be transported through a sophisticated network of pipelines and stored underground in a saline aquifer sink, utilising the considerable geological potential within Saudi Arabia for CO2 storage. This initiative aligns with Saudi Aramco's goal of achieving net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its wholly owned and operated assets by 2050, and an interim objective to reduce upstream carbon intensity by 15% by 2035.
In a statement regarding the project, Gavin Rennick, president of SLB’s New Energy business, expressed pride in being a part of this significant initiative: “SLB is proud to be a part of ground-breaking efforts to enable abatement of millions of tons of CO2 annually through the Jubail CCS hub. Leveraging our proven portfolio of CCS technologies and extensive experience in complex CCS projects around the world, we are confident that SLB will play a critical role in advancing this important initiative.”
Aramco's Executive Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development, Ashraf Al Ghazzawi, also highlighted the importance of the hub in their sustainability strategy: “CCS plays a critical role in furthering our sustainability ambitions and our new energies business. This announcement represents a step forward in delivering on our strategy to contribute to global carbon management solutions and achieve our emission mitigation goals.” Al Ghazzawi noted that the collaboration with SLB and Linde exemplifies the value of global partnerships in driving technological innovation to reduce emissions from traditional energy sources.
The announcement was made during the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, held in Riyadh, which served as a platform for outlining the Kingdom's commitment to a circular carbon economy and its target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.
The recent Saudi Green Initiative Forum showcased the Kingdom's dedication to advancing its energy transition. Concluded on December 4, 2024, the event featured 50 speakers across 25 sessions, drawing over 1,500 attendees from various sectors. Significant milestones included the announcement of five initiatives valued at SAR225 million and the signing of 14 memoranda of understanding, all geared towards enhancing climate and environmental efforts.
Saudi Arabia continues to make robust progress in its renewable energy objectives, targeting a total renewable energy capacity of 130 gigawatts by 2030. As of now, approximately 6.2 gigawatts have been integrated into the national grid, with an additional 20 gigawatts of projects initiated in 2024. The ongoing development pipeline includes 44.2 gigawatts of future projects, which would enable the Kingdom to supply clean electricity to over seven million homes.
Since the introduction of the Saudi Green Initiative in 2021, the Kingdom has successfully planted over 100 million trees and rehabilitated 118,000 hectares of degraded land, an area exceeding 165,000 football fields. This effort contributes to its ambitious long-term goal of planting 10 billion trees and combating desertification, reaffirming Saudi Arabia's commitment to sustainable environmental practices.
Source: Noah Wire Services