Representatives from Australia, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Korea, the US and the United Kingdom were welcomed by Saudi petroleum minister Ali Al-Naimi, to pledge the kingdom’s commitment to tackling climate change with technology.
“We want to tackle climate change and we know that technology holds the key. We also appreciate that it is only by working together that these challenges will be overcome,” Saudi Aramco president Amin Nasser said.
"From what I have witnessed these past few days at CSLF, I am confident that we are on the right track.”
Nasser CCS technology was advancing rapidly, and with each refinement it becomes a more viable option.
“To complement our existing energy efficiency programs, Saudi Aramco has piloted a CCS project to contribute to the scientific knowledge associated with this technology,” he said.
Saudi Aramco launched Saudi Arabia’s first CCS pilot project in July 2015 at the Uthmaniyah field and Hawiyah facilities.
The largest CCS project in the Middle East, it will inject more than 728,000 tonnes of C02 per annum.
The world’s largest CCS project, Shell’s Boundary Dam in Canada, removes one million tonnes per annum of CO2 from a coal-fired power plant.
In addition, Saudi Aramco has invested in technology start-ups, including Novomer which develops catalysts capable of efficiently converting CO2 into products, such as polyurethane.
“Our work is part of a holistic approach that complements the Kingdom’s broader energy framework. Our track-record, long-term approach and scale increases our impact, delivering economic growth using considerably less energy, enabling wider access to energy, improving efficiency, conserving natural resources, and improving environmental performance,” Nasser said.
The CSLF is a ministerial-level international climate change initiative focused on the development of improved cost-effective technologies for the separation and capture of CO2 for its transport, utilisation and long-term safe storage.
The CSLF is comprised of 23 countries and the European Commission, which together represents around 60% of the world's population.
The CSLF held its sixth ministerial conference in the Saudi capital of Riyadh last week.
During the Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Aramco was recognised for a project that advances oxy-combustion technology which improves the combustion of difficult to burn liquid fuels while capturing CO2 at high rate and purity.
The technology is designed to capture CO2 emissions from power plants, refineries and industry at large.
The oxy-combustion technology demonstration project shows promising results for further scale-up as a means to utilizing difficult to burn heavy residues for efficient power generation with the potential for 90% CO2 capture.
As part of its long-term focus on addressing climate change with technology-enabled solutions, Saudi Aramco has reduced its CO2 footprint six-fold over the last 40 years.
In the 1970s the Saudi oiler was flaring four billion cubic feet per day, today less than 1% of total raw gas production is flared, one of the lowest rates in the world.
