Week 46 in Review: From carbon storage to cybersecurity and beyond, the week that was

Here are some of the top headlines over the past week.

Aramco to play key role in Saudi carbon capture hub

Among the initiatives presented by the Kingdom in its ambition to address climate change was an announcement by the Ministry of Energy to build one of the largest planned carbon capture and storage (CCS) hubs globally with commercial partners led by Aramco.

The hub, to be located on the East Coast of Saudi Arabia in Jubail, aims to have the potential to store up to 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) a year by 2027. 

Aramco is planning to contribute around 6 million tonnes, with the remaining 3 million coming from other industrial sources.

“We believe capturing and storing or reusing CO₂ has the potential to reduce global emissions,” said Yasir O. Al-Rumayyan, chairman of the Saudi Aramco Board of Directors.

Phase one of the Jubail CCS hub is intended to capture CO₂ from three Aramco gas plants and other non-Aramco downstream industrial facilities. 

CEO: Cybersecurity critical to maintaining way of life globally

Cyber attackers could plunge the world into “complete chaos” with the energy industry a prime target for their focus, Aramco’s president and CEO, Amin Nasser, has warned. 

Nasser was in Riyadh addressing the two-day Global Cybersecurity Forum, a conference that drew together international government and business experts to explore the current and anticipated cybersecurity landscape.  

Cyber resilience will continue to be an “extremely high priority” for Aramco as a leading supplier of global energy, said Nasser, as he delivered opening day keynote remarks ahead of a panel session titled “Keeping the Lights On.”

The danger for us is clear, present, and constant.
— Amin Nasser 

Nasser also pointed to Aramco’s role as a founding partner of the World Economic Forum’s Center for Cybersecurity, and that through this and other partnerships, the company is encouraging the adoption of best practices and principles for cyber resilience globally.

Aramco Team Series wraps up with Jiddah tournament

The final tournament of the Aramco Team Series completed at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jiddah, with both the individual and teams matches ending in playoffs, with an additional round on the 18th hole. 

Sixteen-year-old Chiara Noja of Germany secured her victory over England’s Charley Hull, sinking a birdie to clinch her first-ever Ladies European Tour title. And Team Garcia — comprised of Nicole Garcia and Casandra Alexander of South Africa, Czechia’s Tereza Melecka, and Moroccan amateur Sonia Bayahya — defeated Team Wolf, which included Austria’s Christine Wolf, Scotland’s Laura Beveridge, Alexandra Swayne of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Saudi amateur Raghdah Alessawi. 

Aramco is proud to invest in inclusive initiatives for people from diverse backgrounds, attracting talented individuals and allowing them to succeed and achieve their goals.
— Nabil A. Al-Nuaim, Aramco’s vice president of Digital Transformation

Aramco and Pertamina explores hydrogen and ammonia value chain

Aramco and Indonesia’s PT Pertamina (Persero) are exploring collaboration across the hydrogen and ammonia value chain.

The companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining future cooperation across this key pathway of the energy transition, in a ceremony that took place alongside the B20 Summit in Bali, the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community.

G20 members and global energy companies have jointly committed to be part of the solution to the global energy crisis which is affecting millions of people worldwide – and which forms the backdrop to the G20 Summit in Bali. 

Aramco affiliate S-Oil to build one of world’s largest petrochemical crackers in South Korea

Aramco is making its biggest ever investment in South Korea to develop one of the world’s largest refinery-integrated petrochemical steam crackers through its S-OIL affiliate, in line with the company’s strategy to maximize the crude to chemicals value chain.

The $7 billion Shaheen project aims to convert crude oil into petrochemical feedstock and would represent the first commercialization of Aramco and Lummus Technology’s TC2C thermal crude to chemicals technology, which increases chemical yield and reduces operating costs. It follows an earlier $4 billion investment into the first phase of the petrochemical expansion completed in 2018.

Located at S-Oil’s existing site in Ulsan, the new plant is planned to have the capacity to produce up to 3.2 million tons of petrochemicals annually and include a facility to produce high-value polymers. The project is expected to start in 2023 and be completed by 2026.