Aramco targets 11 million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia production by 2030
By on June 21, 2022
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
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.