Saudi Aramco works towards net-zero emissions
By Kadie Taylor
Xfinity News
Saudi Aramco is working toward net-zero emissions by 2050, with the belief that lower-carbon energy supplies can be used alongside conventional sources to meet growing energy demands.
Through striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction of both oil and gas, Saudi Aramco is investing in technology solutions that reflect its desire and the global need to reduce carbon emissions.
According to the Saudi Aramco 2024 Climate Change and the Energy Transition document, significant energy efficiency was recorded in 2024, showing that the company is on the right track for reducing emissions.
Through utilizing new solutions and systems, Saudi Aramco is improving energy performance and energy savings across its facilities.
“Aramco has developed and deployed a digital solution that supports its operating assets in optimizing combined heat and power (CHP) systems,” the Climate Change and Energy Transition document reported. “In 2024, facilities improved their energy performance, resulting in energy savings of 548 MMBtu/hr across 14 steam and power facilities.”
Other energy efficiency actions included advancing process control, boiler operations optimization, converting excess steam into power, optimizing gas turbine operations, automations to improve cooling, utilizing tail gas as fuel, using electricity to produce blue hydrogen and ISO 5000 certifications.
As it continues to implement new actions to increase energy efficiency, Saudi Aramco has prevented unnecessary energy consumption.
“The cumulative implementation of energy efficiency measures has moderated the increase in our energy intensity, preventing an additional 1.4% rise in energy consumption,” the Climate Change and Energy Transition document detailed. “Without these measures, our energy consumption would have increased by 4.3% instead of the actual 2.9%.”
Along with decreasing greenhouse gas and carbon emissions, Saudi Aramco documented its work to increase support for nature-based climate solutions and to further promote sustainable development.
Through climate initiatives, like Saudi Aramco’s goal of planting 300 million mangroves, the company aims to restore natural ecosystems, enhance wildlife habitat and contribute to carbon dioxide capture and storage.
“In 2024, we planted approximately 12.5 million mangroves in the Kingdom, bringing the Company’s cumulative total of planted mangroves to more than 43 million,” the Climate Change and Energy Transition document reported. “The third-party assessed total carbon stock of the planted and existing mangroves is equal to approximately 466,697 metric tons of CO2e.”
According to the Saudi Aramco, 2024 Minimizing Environmental Impact document, the company is aiming to not only prevent harm but also positively impact natural habitats and shared resources.
The Saudi Aramco “Biodiversity Mitigation Hierarchy” guides the company to “Avoid” operating in high-quality habitats, “Minimize” impact, “Restore” degraded habitats and “Offset” what cannot be avoided, minimized or restored. This effort can be seen in the utilization of groundwater for improving water conservation within the company.
“We are working towards further reducing air emissions by enhancing our systems and assets,” the Minimizing Environmental Impact document reported. “Operating in an arid environment, we continue to implement a water conservation program to improve efficiency and utilize groundwater alternatives whenever possible. We deploy technologies to enhance dashboard monitoring of hydrocarbon discharges to water, equipping frontline operators with tools to take corrective actions.”
As Saudi Aramco works to improve its environmental impact, they are additionally working to address the harms of oil spills through quick responses and reduced spillage, leading to a significant decrease in 2024 volume spillage compared to 2023.
“Aramco operates across a vast expanse with many sites in remote areas,” the Minimizing Environmental Impact document detailed. “This presents challenges in detecting spills onshore and offshore, as well as in responding promptly to spill incidents. In 2024, the number and volume of hydrocarbon spills fell significantly (a 41.7% fall in number of hydrocarbon spills, and a 99.6% decline in volume of hydrocarbon spills compared to 2023).”
In the Saudi Aramco, Investing in Growth, Innovating for Sustainability document, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, H.E. Yasir O. Al-Rumayyan, addressed the transition and growth in the company’s future.
“A significant part of the transition will be reducing emissions from existing sources of energy, critical for reliability and affordability,” he said. “We continue to find new ways to minimize flaring and methane emissions while improving energy efficiency across our operations. As Aramco is a founding member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), and has already surpassed the OGCI’s methane intensity target. We are taking actions to further reduce our methane intensity through various initiatives, such as the deployment of a new satellite network to monitor emissions across our facilities.”
Moving forward, Saudi Aramco is continuing to work towards building an energy-efficient and environmentally positive company that uses innovation and new technology to work towards a net-zero emission future.
“Aramco has an important role in helping the world navigate the energy transition,” the Investing for Growth, Innovating for Sustainability document noted. “What we do as a global community will determine the legacy we leave for future generations. Our intention is to be a part of the solution that creates a stable energy environment to foster innovation and growth opportunities in developing and developed countries. We also aim to deliver a healthier, safer and rewarding environment for our people, our suppliers and communities where we operate while rehabilitating and mitigating the impact on our natural environment.”