Page 5 - MEOG Week 43 2021
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MEOG COMMENTARY MEOG
The first phase is seen producing 1.1 bcf (31 produces, excluding the cost of gas production.
mcm) per day of raw gas, which will be pro- The company has already dipped its toe into
cessed at a facility on-site. the emerging market with a pilot project along-
Aramco announced that it had received reg- side the Japan’s Institute of Energy Economics
ulatory approval from the Ministry of Energy to (IEEJ) last year.
proceed with the expansion of the Kingdom’s In September, Aramco shipped its first cargo
unconventional gas production capabilities in of blue ammonia to Japan to be used in zero-car-
February 2020. The main focus of the initiative bon power generation.
is Jafurah, which holds an estimated 200 tril- The 40-tonne shipment was generated by
lion cubic feet of gas (5.7 trillion cubic metres), Aramco and was made in collaboration with
around half of which is comprised of liquids. The Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC)
field is Saudi Arabia’s largest deposit of uncon- and IEEJ.
ventional gas. Aramco said that during the process of gener-
The comments mark the first time either Ara- ating the ammonia, it had captured 50 tonnes of
mco or Riyadh have put any flesh on the bones carbon dioxide (CO2). 30 tonnes will be used in
of loose plans to become a major player in the methanol production at SABIC’s Ibn-Sina facil-
nascent hydrogen industry. ity, with the remainder to be used in enhanced oil
In June, Aramco’s chief technology officer recovery (EOR) at Aramco’s ‘Uthmaniyah field.
Ahmad al-Khowaiter said: “We’re going to have In a presentation, Aramco said that the pro-
a large share” of the market. However, reiterating duction of blue ammonia had spanned the entire
views aired during a company event in Febru- value chain, supporting the company’s recent
ary, he added: “The scale up isn’t going to happen claims of investing in the circular economy.
before 2030. We’re not going to see large volumes Natural gas was taken from ‘Uthmaniyah and
of blue ammonia before then.” converted to hydrogen at a dedicated facility in
He added: “From the time you make clear off- Jubail, with the CO2 captured at a nearby facility
take agreements, you’re talking about a five- to and returned to ‘Uthmaniyah and sent to Jubail
six-year capital cycle to invest in the production Methanol Plant. Nitrogen was added to the
and conversion requirements … You’re talking hydrogen at the Jubail Ammonia Plant to cre-
about a pretty long timescale.” ate blue ammonia, which was then dispatched
In February, he had said that Aramco doesn’t by sea to Japan, where it will be separated and
“see much growth in [the] market until 2030, used to power the 50-kW Koriyama micro gas
when the infrastructure and policies will be in turbine, the 2-MW Yokohama gas turbine and a
place. We think Japan and South Korea will be co-firing boiler in Aioi.
where the first hydrogen trading markets will For Aramco, blue hydrogen and ammonia
begin in the end of 2020s, early 2030s.” appear to be the perfect solution to the compa-
With that said, the executive anticipates that ny’s desire to reduce emissions while remaining
Aramco may spend around $1bn to capture car- relevant in a market that is demanding cleaner
bon for every 1mn tonnes of blue ammonia it fuels.
Week 43 27•October•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P5
