Aramco targets 11 million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia production by 2030

New sustainability report released

As Aramco works towards net-zero across its operations by 2050, the new sustainability report headlines include:

• Goal to reduce Upstream carbon intensity by at least 15% by 2035, against 2018 baseline

• Greenhouse gas emission initiatives aim to reduce or mitigate more than 50 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually by 2035

• Goal to capture, utilize or store 11 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually by 2035

• Company aims to produce 11 million metric tons per year of blue ammonia, a carrier of blue hydrogen, by 2030, supporting emissions reduction in hard-to-decarbonize sectors

• Renewables investment aims to generate 12GW of solar and wind power annually by 2035

From Aramco’s official press release, 15 June 2022
Click to read more about Aramco’s low-carbon ammonia target.
Click to read more about Aramco’s low-carbon ammonia target.

The 12 GW of solar and wind generating capacity will come mainly thanks to Aramco’s involvement in the Saudi Arabia Renewable Energy Hub, a new ammonia export Supergiant planned with InterContinental Energy. The source of 11 million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia, however, is less clear.

In October 2020 a demonstration shipment of CCUS ammonia from Aramco successfully reached Japan: 40 tonnes produced by SABIC (carbon emissions captured and used for methanol production and enhanced oil recovery). Now the scaling-up from forty to eleven million tonnes is a significant challenge, but the intent and investment willingness is there. In the past two years, Aramco has agreed to two MoUs exploring the establishment of low-carbon ammonia supply chains from the Middle East outwards: to Japan (Eneos) and South Korea (Hyundai Heavy Industries). Aramco is also not baulking at the price tag of carbon capture, which officials estimate will be $1 billion for every one million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia produced.

guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments