Saudi Aramco's Growing Investments in Low-Carbon Energy

Saudi Aramco's CEO rejects phasing out oil, emphasizing continued investment, despite substantial commitment to low-carbon transition.

### Saudi Aramco's Low-Carbon Transition and Ambitious CO2 Capture Plans
* 🛢 Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, asserts that "Peak oil and gas is unlikely to come for some time, let alone 2030," emphasizing the need to **invest in oil and gas based on realistic demand assumptions**.
* 🌍 Despite being the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco is already one of the biggest investors in the low-carbon transition, allocating **10% of its $50 billion annual capital spending to renewables**.
* ☀ Aramco's renewable energy division, Aramco New Energies, completed the **1.5 GW Sudair solar project** this year, with plans to achieve **12 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030**.
* 🌱 The company is also exploring partnerships in the renewables sector, such as discussions with Spanish oil giant Repsol for a **stake in its Renewables business**.
* 🌬 In addition to renewables, Aramco is working on innovative solutions for CO2 capture and utilization, including a system at its Ju'aymah refining complex to **capture 9 million tons of CO2 per year**.
* 💡 To further advance its low-carbon initiatives, Aramco has more than **doubled the funding** of its venture capital arm, Aramco Ventures, with **$4 billion available for investments**.
* 🌳 One of the promising investments made by Aramco Ventures is in Spirius, a New Mexico-based startup founded by Charles Kadu and Matt Lee, which has developed a **passive CO2 capture technology**.

today on Forbes, the slow greening of the world's biggest oil company. Amin Nasser, the CEO of Saudi Aramco, declared this year that the age of fossil fuels is far from over. He said, quote, Peak oil and gas is unlikely to come for some time, let alone 2030. We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas and instead invest in them adequately, reflecting realistic demand assumptions. Of course, he would say that. He's the head of the world's biggest oil company, which is ranked number three on this year's Forbes Global 2000 list, down one spot from last year on lower oil prices. The Global 2000 list is our annual ranking of the world's largest public companies, which was released last week. As CEO of Aramco, Nasser oversees the production of more than 12 million barrels per day of oil and gas. Aramco is such a behemoth that both its output and $17 billion in net income is more than three times higher even than Exxon Mobil, which is down six spots to number

14 on this year's list Chevron number 22 and down four spots looks like a comparative pipsqueak with merely $20 billion in profits last year and a ramco isn't going anywhere with proven reserves of well over 200 billion barrels. It can keep that pace for decades to come so yes NASA is biased but the thing is he's not wrong renewable zero carbon energy is so far an addition not a transition for all the endless hype about the transition away from oil gas and coal. The reality is that the world has never relied more on carbon spewing energy sources than it does now. Nasser said quote in the real world the current transition strategy is visibly failing on most fronts so far. Renewables can't scale fast enough their upfront costs are too high and they are not as convenient for all of China's advances in erecting solar panels for example. It still burned a record 5 billion tons of coal last year 10 times us coal.

consumption. Electric vehicles now make up 19% of global car sales, yet global petroleum consumption continues to inch past 100 million barrels per day. According to Claudio Galimberti, an analyst at consultancy Rad Energy, Oil demand sticky and will continue to rise as low carbon alternatives are not yet sufficiently developed or economically competitive to offset the growing demand for transportation and industrial services. So it might surprise you to learn that Aramco, ironically, is already one of the world's biggest investors in the low carbon transition. Aramco has dedicated 10% of its 50 billion dollar a year in capital spending to renewables and launched the Aramco New Energies division. This year, they completed the Sudair solar project with 1.5 GW of capacity, while the 2.7 GW Schuba solar field will be completed next year. By 2030, Aramco promises 12 GW of solar and wind. The company is in talks with Spanish oil giant Repsol for a

stake in its Renewables business, building on an existing repol JV to make zero-carbon jet fuel using so-called green hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide. At Aramco's Juil refining complex, they are building a system to grab 9 million tons a year of CO2 that will complement an existing process that captures carbon emissions from an ethylene glycol plant and turns it into low-carbon methanol. Yet, if Aramco is going to deliver on NASA's promise to capture and sequester 44 million tons per year of CO2 by 2035, it will need some new tricks to hunt them down. Aramco has more than doubled funding to venture capital arm Aramco Ventures, with $4 billion available for investments. Among the most promising is a new investment of tens of millions of dollars that Aramco Ventures has made into a New Mexico-based startup called Spirius, born out of Los Alamos National Lab. Spirius' co-founders, Charles Kadu and Matt Lee, have developed a novel

technology that they claim absorbs CO2 from the air. And unlike competing CO2 capture Technologies, which rely on giant fans and compressors to suck in air, spiritus devices work passively as quiet as a tree. For full coverage, check out Christopher Helman's piece on forbes.com. This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in. [Music]

How Saudi Aramco Champions Net-Zero Solutions, While Still Pumping 12 Million Barrels Per Day

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Forbes

Saudi Aramco CEO's Stance on Fossil Fuels

Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, rejects the idea of phasing out oil and gas, emphasizing the need to invest in them based on realistic demand assumptions.

Despite being the world's largest oil company, Aramco's ranking has slightly dropped on the Forbes Global 2000 list.

The company's massive output and net income surpass those of its competitors, highlighting its significant impact on the oil and gas industry.

Aramco's Investment in Low Carbon Transition

Aramco, one of the world's largest investors in the low carbon transition, has allocated 10% of its annual capital spending to renewables.

The company has already completed the Sudair solar project and plans to finish the Schuba solar field next year, with a promise of 12 GW of solar and wind power by 2030.

Despite this, global petroleum consumption continues to rise, as low carbon alternatives struggle to compete with growing demand for transportation and industrial services.

Aramco's Expansion into Renewable Energy and Carbon Capture

Aramco is expanding its renewables business and investing in zero-carbon jet fuel production using green hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

The company is also developing systems to capture and utilize millions of tons of CO2, with a goal of capturing 44 million tons per year by 2035.

Additionally, Aramco Ventures has doubled its funding and made a significant investment in the startup Spirius, which focuses on carbon reduction technologies.

Spiritus has developed a passive CO2 capture technology, in contrast to other methods that use large fans and compressors.

The technology is being compared to the quietness of a tree's CO2 absorption.

Check out Christopher Helman's article on forbes.