Saudi Aramco, Linde and SLB to set up CCS hub in Jubail

Saudi Aramco said on Wednesday that it signed a shareholders’ agreement with SLB and Linde to establish a carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub, which is expected to become one of the largest globally, with the potential to safely store up to 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2027.

The project is expected to support Aramco’s ambition to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its wholly owned and operated assets by 2050.

“CCS plays a critical role in furthering our sustainability ambitions and our new energies business. The CCS hub is among several programs that will enable us to meet the rising demand for affordable, reliable and more sustainable energy,” said Ashraf Al Ghazzawi, Aramco EVP of Strategy & Corporate Development.

Phase one of the CCS hub will have the capacity to capture nine million tonnes of CO2 from three Aramco gas plants and other industrial sources. The captured CO2 will be transported via pipeline and sequestered in a saline aquifer.

Aramco owns a 60 per cent equity interest in the CCS hub, with Linde and SLB each owning a 20 per cent stake.

The state-owned energy firm and the world’s biggest exporter of oil set a goal of reaching net-zero emissions from its wholly-owned operations by 2060. The target excludes emissions from customers burning its crude but is a decade sooner than a government timetable for the kingdom.

Aramco’s pledge applies to emissions from its own operations or from the generation of power and heat to its assets – Scope 1 and Scope 2. It doesn’t apply to Scope 3, which is generated by customers burning its fuels and makes up more than 80 per cent of Aramco’s total emissions.

The oil giant reported a 15.4 per cent drop in third-quarter profit due to lower crude prices and weaker refining margins, but it maintained its generous dividend at $31.1bn for the quarter. It posted net income of $27.6bn in the three months to September 30, which still beat a company-provided median estimate of $26.9bn.

Meanwhile, Aramco also signed a collaboration agreement with Carbon Clean and SAMSUNG E&A to demonstrate new carbon capture technology.

The innovative technology is designed to deploy Carbon Clean’s CycloneCC technology to capture CO2 from natural gas turbine exhaust streams containing approximately 4 per cent CO2.

Read: Saudi Aramco reports 15% drop in Q3 profit, maintains dividend