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Aramco brings on shareholders for mega CCS hub: Saudi Aramco signed a shareholders’ agreement with global multinational chemicals company Linde and US-based SLB for their planned Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in Jubail, according to a statement. Aramco will hold a 60% equity, with Linde and SLB each owning a 20% stake. No financial details of the transaction have been disclosed.
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About the project: Aramco signed an agreement to build the CCS hub with the capacity to store up to 9 mn tons of carbon dioxide a year during COP27 in Egypt back in 2022. 6 mn tons will come from Aramco facilities, whereas the remaining 3 mn tons of CO2 will come from other industrial sources in the Kingdom, the initial announcement said. The captured CO2 will be transported through a pipeline network and stored underground in a saline aquifer sink.
What’s the timeline? The first phase is expected to be completed by 2027, with plans for other phases and expanded capacity. Last June, Scotland-based consulting and engineering firm Wood finalized the front-end engineering and design (FEED) scope for the first phase of the project.
A significant piece of the puzzle: The project will be key for Aramco’s ambition to be a leader in the global market of blue hydrogen, a form of zero-carbon fuel made through a process that captures its own carbon emissions. The oil giant reconfirmed plans to produce 11 mn tons of blue hydrogen annually by 2030 last year, earmarking “multiple bns of USD” in a bid for the plans. The project will also help the company achieve its target to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 15% by 2035 — to offset 52 mn metric tons of CO2 — and reach net zero emissions by 2050. These 2035 targets include plans to store around 14 mn metric tons of CO2 per year from carbon capture and storage projects.
Aramco has a lot of irons in the fire: The oil and gas giant inked final agreements to acquire a 50% stake in Jubail-based Air Products Qudra subsidiary Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Company last July. Earlier this year, the company inked three MoUs with US companies to develop lower-carbon energy solutions. These included an agreement to reduce emissions and energy efficiency, an agreement to explore investing in direct air capture, and an agreement to explore using heat batteries in Aramco’s facilities overseas.
