Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is central to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to decarbonize its energy sector and future-proof it amid the energy transition. The government emphasized the planned role of CCS in its updated ‘nationally determined contribution’ (NDC) last year, and fleshed out further details during this month’s Cop 27 talks in Egypt.

Speaking in Sharm el-Sheikh on 11 November, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman unveiled plans for 44mn t/y carbon capture capacity by 2035. In the near-term, an agreement was signed between Saudi Aramco, SLB (formerly Schlumberger) and Germany’s Linde to develop a 9mn t/y CCUS hub at the industrial city of Jubail, with operations beginning by 2027. (CONTINUED - 673 WORDS)