1200 Smith Street
Houston, TX 77002
Aramco Americas
P.O. Box 4534
Houston, TX 77002
43/F, 45/F20-26, China World Tower 3,
No.1 Jianguomenwai Avenue,
Chaoyang District,
Beijing, China 100004
Room 16T60, 16/F – SWFC, 100 Century Avenue,
Pudong District,
Shanghai 200120, China
15F, Paragon Center, No.1 Lianyue Road,
Siming District,
Xiamen 361012, Fujian, China
2A-0801, 8th Floor, Two Horizon Center, DLF 5,
Sector 43, Gurugram 122002,
Haryana, India
Level 32, Maxis Tower
Kuala Lumpur City Center
50088 Kuala Lumpur
We commenced construction of our Fadhili Gas Plant, located 30 km west of Jubail Industrial City, in late 2016. The facility is emblematic of our broader impact on not only increasing supplies of gas, but also driving economic growth, developing the Saudi workforce, and reducing emissions.
Designed to process up to 2.5 billion scfd of raw gas, Fadhili will be our first plant to treat nonassociated gas from both onshore and offshore fields, with start up planned in 2019.
The plant was designed from inception to use the Tail Gas Treatment process to reach the maximum sulfur recovery rate of 99.9%, helping protect air quality.
The project’s value extends well beyond the resources it will process: the development of Fadhili will add billions of dollars to the local economy, with an expectation that 40% of the plant’s materials and services to be sourced and manufactured in Saudi Arabia.
When completed, Fadhili Gas Plant will become a key component of the Kingdom’s Master Gas System.
We are expanding the gas processing capacity of our Hawiyah gas plant by more than 1 billion scfd. The new gas processing facilities, expected to be on stream in 2021, are anticipated to raise total production capacity of the plant to approximately 3.6 billion scfd, making it one of the largest gas processing facilities in the world.
We are making improvements to sustain gas production from both the Haradh and Hawiyah fields for the next 20 years and boost production by an average of 1.2 scfd. The program includes installing gas compression facilities, liquid separation stations, and transmission lines to our Haradh and Hawiyah gas plants, along with expanding the existing gas gathering pipeline network.
Karan, was our first non-associated offshore gas field development. Discovered in 2006 in the thickest, extremely prolific and complex carbonate layers, the project was fast-tracked, taking only six years to go from discovery to production.
Non-associated gas fields do not have an associated oil column and, therefore, can be accessed without producing oil. The raw gas is transported through a 110-kilometer subsea pipeline to the Khursaniyah Gas Plant for processing.
The natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery plant at Shaybah was commissioned and began production in late 2015, with a second processing train starting up in 2016. The plant will help us meet increasing demand for petrochemical feedstock by recovering valuable NGL from produced gas.
Designed to process as much as 2.4 billion scfd of associated gas and recover 275,000 bpd of ethane plus NGL, the Shaybah facility will feed these new volumes of NGL via pipeline to Ju’aymah for further processing before being delivered as petrochemical feedstock to industrial cities.
Wasit, one of the largest gas plants we have ever built, was brought onstream in October 2015 and reached full operating capacity in mid-2016. Unlike our other gas plants, Wasit is designed to process solely nonassociated gas.
To feed Wasit, we brought gas production onstream from the big bore nonassociated gas wells in our offshore Arabiyah and Hasbah fields, situated approximately 150 km northeast of Jubail Industrial City in the Arabian Gulf. With the startup of production from these two fields, more than 40% of our nonassociated gas now comes from offshore fields.
Our continued success in increasing supplies of cleaner burning natural gas makes it possible for us to reduce emissions, enable new industries and release more crude oil for value-added refining or export.
As the company's largest oil processing facility and the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world, Abqaiq plays a pivotal role in our day-to-day operations.
Abqaiq oil facilities receive sour crude oil from gas-oil separation plants (GOSPs), process it into sweet crude oil, and then transport it to Ras Tanura and Jubail on the east coast, Yanbu' on the west coast and to Bapco Refinery in Bahrain. The off gases from the spheroids and stabilizer columns that are part of the conversion process are then sent to Abqaiq natural gas liquids (NGL) facilities for further processing.
Abqaiq is the main oil processing center for Arabian Extra Light and Arabian Light crude oils.
The northern-most portion of the Ghawar field lies approximately 100 kilometers west of Dhahran. The field comprises six main areas (Fazran, Ain Dar, Shedgum, Uthaminyah, Hawiyah and Haradh) and extends southward over more than 200 kilometers as one long continuous anticline. It is approximately 36 kilometers across at its widest point.
We believe that the Ghawar field is the largest oil field in the world in terms of conventional proved reserves, totaling 58.32 billion barrels of oil equivalent as at 31 December 2018. It has accounted for more than half of the total cumulative crude oil production in the Kingdom.
The Ghawar field facilities and infrastructure remain a central component in our long-term strategic framework for optimizing both technical recovery of resources and the economic of resource management.
The Haradh area, located at the southern tip of the Ghawar oil field, was developed in three increments of 300,000 bpd of Arabian Light crude oil capacity.
Haradh III was also the first plant in the Southern Area of company operations to have completely automated well control and monitoring, allowing remote operations. The project benefited from successful integration of four technologies: multilateral, maximum reservoir contact (MRC) wells; Smart Well completions (using control valves for preventing premature water breakthrough); geosteering (for optimal placement of wells in the reservoir for maximum recovery); and the “intelligent field” concept, in which real-time sub-surface data transmissions enable continual monitoring of key reservoir indicators. The integrated use of these four technologies slashed unit well development costs three-fold.
The Khurais complex, which comprises of the Abu Jifan and Mazalij fields in addition to Khurais itself, is approximately 106 kilometers long and 18 kilometers across at its widest point.
As of 31 December 2018, proved reserves at Khurais were 21.40 billion barrels of oil equivalent, including 20.10 billion barrels of liquid reserves.
The Khursaniyah program includes facilities to process and stabilize 500,000 bpd of Arabian Light crude oil blend from the Abu Hadriya, Fadhili and Khursaniyah fields, and a grassroots gas plant to process one billion scfd of associated gas.
Khursaniyah began producing oil in August 2008. The facility also has the capacity to inject 1.1 million bpd of non-potable water for reservoir pressure maintenance.
The UNESCO environmental responsibility award nominated Manifa crude oil development was designed to produce 900,000 bpd of Arabian Heavy crude oil, 90 million scfd of sour gas, and 65,000 bpd of hydrocarbon condensate.
By employing best-in-class technologies in infrastructure, drilling and production activities, the project consumed more than 80 million man hours without a lost time injury.
Prior to construction, extensive engineering and ecological assessments were conducted to ensure that the marine ecosystem would not be adversely affected by developing the field. As a direct result of these studies, Saudi Aramco constructed three kilometers of bridges to span the migration paths of various marine species, maintaining natural water flow and preserving natural marine nurseries.
Nuayyim crude oil increment added 100,000 bpd of Arabian Super Light crude oil and 90 million scfd of associated gas to our production capacity.
The project – the first in-Kingdom project of this scale with a project proposal completed entirely in Saudi Arabia – also included a gas-oil separation plant, 140 kilometers of 16” gas pipeline, and water supply facilities at Hawtah. Smokeless flaring has been used to significantly reduce emissions.
The field, which entered production in August 2009, is 250 kilometers south of Riyadh and about 50 kilometers northeast of our Hawtah crude oil facility, the first producing facility in the Central Region of Saudi Arabia.
Qatif Producing Plants Program consists of facilities to produce, process, and transport 500,000 bpd of blended Arabian Light crude oil from the Qatif field and 300,000 bpd of Arabian Medium crude oil from the offshore Abu Sa'fah field.
The Qatif facility was the first to produce Arabian Light crude oil by blending Arabian Extra Light, Light and Medium grades.
We believe that Safaniyah field is the world's largest conventional offshore oil field in terms of roved reserves. It is located approximately 260 kilometers north of Dhahran. Most of the field lies offshore in the Arabian Gulf. Within the Concession area, the Safaniyah field is approximately 50 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide.
As of December 2018, the proved reserves were 34.03 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The Shaybah field, located in the Rub’ al-Khali or Empty Quarter, was discovered in 1968. Its remote location, local summer temperatures in excess of 50 degrees Celsius and sand dunes higher than 300 meters presented serious challenges. So for technical and economic reasons, development was held off until 20 years later. However, by the 1990s, advances in 3D seismic imaging technology, horizontal drilling and other technologies gave us the tools we needed to begin production.
The field is approximately 13 kilometers wide and 64 kilometers long. Due to the field's remoteness, its facilities include a dedicated NGL recovery unit, an airfield and accommodation for staff.
Our second 250,000 bpd expansion project at Shaybah came on-stream in 2016, raising its overall production capacity to 1 million bpd of Arabian Extra Light crude oil — double the facility’s original capacity. As of December 2018, proved reserves were 14.86 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The Zuluf field is located in the Arabian Gulf, approximately 240 kilometers north of Dhahran, in average water depth of 118 feet. The field has two main structures, Zuluf and Ribyan, and is of similar area to Safaniyah to the north.
As of December 2018, Zuluf had proved reserves of 31.31 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Aramco operates one of the world’s largest refining businesses, and its integrated petrochemical refinery complex at Jazan City for Primary and Downstream Industries is part of the Company’s vibrant downstream growth strategy.
In 2020, Aramco confirmed that it would proceed with the divestment of the Jazan Integrated Gasification and Combined Cycle Plant into a Joint Venture (JV) between Aramco, Air Products, ACWA Power, and Air Products Qudra, integrating the Air Separation Unit into the JV.
Once Aramco’s Jazan Refinery Complex is ready for full operations, expected in the first half of 2021, Aramco will have five wholly owned refineries within the Kingdom, three of which were built specifically to supply transportation and utility fuels for the domestic marketplace.
Hyundai Oilbank is a refinery in South Korea, established in 1964. The Daesan Complex, where Hyundai Oilbank’s major facilities are located, is a fully integrated refining plant with a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Aramco has a 17% equity interest in Hyundai Oilbank.
Idemitsu Kosan, one of leading refining and marketing companies in Japan, is a result of a merger between Idemitsu and Showa Shell Sekiyu. Its sales in Japan are primarily gasoline, diesel oil, kerosene and automotive lubricants. Idemitsu Kosan owns and operates more than 6,400 retail service stations, has equity stakes in six refineries, and a gross refining capacity of 945,000 bpd. Aramco owns a 7.7% equity interest in Idemitsu Kosan.
Motiva Enterprises, a fully owned affiliate of Saudi Aramco, operates the Port Arthur Refinery, the largest refinery in the U.S. at 635,000 bpd in Port Arthur, Texas. Motiva has acquired a 100% equity interest in Motiva Chemicals LLC (formerly Flint Hills), a chemical plant in Port Arthur, Texas.
Sinopec SenMei Petroleum Company Limited is a joint venture of Sinopec, ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited and Saudi Aramco Sino Company Limited. Sinopec SenMei, with headquarters in Fuzhou, is mainly engaged in the wholesale, retail, storage, throughput and transport of the processed oil, lubricant and other petroleum products, operation of convenience stores of service stations, car washing, lubricant replacement, restaurant and other auxiliary services.
Based in Maastricht, Netherlands, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, ARLANXEO serves the development, production, marketing, sale and distribution of specialty chemicals and synthetic rubber products, principally for the high-volume global tire and automotive industries.
A joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical. The products produced are used in such end products as plastics, detergents, lubricants, resins, coolants, anti-freeze, paint, carpets, rope, clothing, shampoo, auto interiors, epoxy glue, insulation, film, fibers, household appliances, packaging, candles, pipes and many other applications.
PRefChem venture is a strategic alliance between Saudi Aramco and Petronas, through equal ownership in two joint ventures, namely the Pengerang Refining Company Sdn. Bhd. (PRefChem Refining) and the Pengerang Petrochemical Company Sdn. Bhd. (PRefChem Petrochemical), collectively known as PRefChem.
The Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co. (SATORP), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Total in Jubail, supports Saudi Aramco’s efforts to expand the value chain and achieve maximum value from the Kingdom’s resources. It processes heavy Arabian crude daily into low-sulfur gasoline, diesel and jets fuel that comply with the standards in the United States, Europe and Japan. It also produces paraxylene, benzene, sulfur and pure petroleum coke that fuels cement plants and electric power stations.
Located in Yanbu' Industrial City on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, the world-class YASREF refinery has the capacity to refine 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Arabian heavy crude and produces over 13.5 million gallons per day of ultra-clean transportation fuels and other high-value refined products.
Our Technology Office in Aberdeen focuses on drilling and production technologies. The European arm of Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) is located within the office, whose mission is to source and develop relationships with strategically significant and innovative energy technology companies.
Our Beijing Research Center conducts research on chemical enhanced oil recovery and advanced seismic imaging technologies, including automated fault detection and improvements in data quality through super resolution.
The Center is also evaluating the expansion of research activities into the downstream sector in areas such as transportation efficiency, greenhouse gas management, advanced control and power systems, robotics, materials science, nanotechnology and advanced computing.
Our CO2 Management Collaboration at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea, is dedicated to addressing issues related to carbon management. The collaboration follows an interdisciplinary approach to innovative and cost-effective CO2 capture, storage, and conversion from fixed and mobile sources.
The Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands is home to our technology office that focuses mainly on seismic processing and subsurface imaging to help us better understand the nature of our subsurface geology.
Aramco Innovations Research Center
Leninskiye Gory 1 bldg 75-B
119234 Moscow
Russia
Our Aramco Fuel Research Center in Paris is located at IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPen). IFP Energies nouvelles is a public-sector research, innovation and training center active in the fields of energy, transport and the environment. Thanks to this strategic placement, we can capitalize on IFPen’s facilities and links to various European automakers to accelerate the innovation cycle of different fuel technologies.
Our research areas at our Dhahran headquarters include the Research & Development Center (R&DC) and the EXPEC Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC).
EXPEC ARC develops specialized technologies necessary to achieve its upstream objectives of increasing discovery of oil resources and increasing reservoir recovery. An expansion of the EXPEC Advanced Research Center is currently underway, with new facilities to enable integrated research on sustainability technologies.
Our R&DC focuses on cutting-edge technologies that enhance operational reliability, efficiency and safety, as well as investigating clean fuels and the management of carbon release.
Our research center at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) focuses on catalyst development, materials science, nanotechnology, robotics, solar energy materials and fuel technology. The strong capabilities provided in downstream areas are complemented by our FUELCOM collaboration with the KAUST Clean Combustion Research Center.
Aramco Research Center-Boston supports development in the areas of computational modeling, advanced materials, and nanotechnology. The center works on collaborative research projects with the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) faculty, with a focus on modeling, visualization, simulation, and advanced materials.
Our Aramco Research Centers in Detroit, Houston, and Boston have a collaboration with the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) to support research by two Low-Carbon Energy Centers designed to address climate change challenges. The centers bring together researchers from multiple disciplines at MIT to engage with companies, governmental agencies, and other stakeholders to further research and promote clean energy technologies to mitigate climate change.
Our Aramco Research Center in Detroit focuses on competitive transportation solutions, improving the efficiency of current and future engines, reducing overall environmental impact, cost, and complexity of engine systems.
The Center can accommodate light-duty and heavy-duty fuels research programs and also offers full on-site integration and the demonstration of new vehicle technologies. Our Strategic Transportation Analysis Team, based in the Detroit Center, provides dynamic industry analysis relevant to our fuels research and development activities.
Aramco Research Center in Houston focuses on upstream technologies for conventional and unconventional resources to support discovery and recovery goals. Specific areas of research include advanced seismic imaging, unconventional productivity enhancement, smart fluids to improve well productivity, nano-based polymers, surfactants, cement technologies related to drilling operations, quantitative geology, and advanced downhole sensors. It is our largest center outside Saudi Arabia.
내연기관의 환경적 영향을 줄이기 위한 아람코의 노력
140여 년 동안 내연기관은 승용차, 트럭, 선박, 항공기 및 기차를 통해 전 세계의 수십억 명 사람들, 상품 및 자재를 수송하며 지구의 심장박동 역할을 했습니다. 전세계 더 많은 국가들이 빈곤에서 벗어나면서 더 많은 에너지를 소비하고 있기 때문에, 미래에도 이러한 역할을 지속할 것 입니다.
현재 추정에 따르면 2040년 내연기관 차량의 수는 17억 대에 이를 전망입니다. 이는 특히 이산화탄소 배출과 임박한 탄소중립 목표 달성 측면에서 천연자원과 환경에 큰 도전과제를 수반합니다.
그렇다면 차량 성능에 미치는 영향을 최소화하면서, 합리적인 비용으로 배출을 저감하는 실용적인 솔루션을 개발하는 방법은 무엇일까요?
차량의 효율을 높이는 방법은 다양합니다.
차량의 중량을 줄이고 공기 역학을 개선하여, 항력을 낮추고 엔진의 마찰을 줄이는 방법 등이 있습니다. 이러한 방법이 효과를 낼 수 있겠지만, 아람코는 이산화탄소 저감 측면에서 훨씬 더 큰 도약을 실현한다는 목표를 설정했습니다.
이산화탄소를 배출원에서 포집하는 기술은 발전소 등의 산업 환경에서 이미 한동안 존재해 왔습니다. 그러나 이동 중에 탄소를 포집하는 것은, 물리적 제약 및 차량 내 상대적인 공간 부족부터 차량 이동시 발생하는 가변 공기흐름과 같은 외부 요인을 처리하는 것까지 여러가지 복잡한 도전과제를 수반합니다.
배출가스에서 이산화탄소를 분리하기 위해 필요한 추가 에너지를 어떻게 생성할 것인지가 관건입니다. 특히 추가 연료를 사용하게 되면 운전자에게 더 많은 비용이 발생하고, 결과적으로 더 많은 이산화탄소를 배출하게 됩니다.
일반적으로 엔진은 연료 에너지의 25~40%를 추진력으로 전환합니다. 나머지는 라디에이터와 배출을 통해 열의 형태로 손실됩니다. 아람코는 이 폐열을 에너지로 전환하여 이산화탄소 포집과 압축기 가동에 동력을 공급하는 획기적인 에너지회수시스템을 개발했습니다.
아람코의 탄소포집시스템은 이 배출가스를 용제와 반응시켜 이산화탄소를 포집하는 방식이며, 이 과정에서 질소, 수증기, 잔여 이산화탄소가 방출됩니다. 그리고 이산화탄소를 압축하여 차량 내 탱크에 안전하게 저장합니다.
대기 중의 이산화탄소를 제거하는 것은, 탄소순환경제의 일부로서 인간과 지구의 균형을 회복하는데 기여하는 '4R' (감축, 재사용, 재활용, 제거) 중 하나입니다.
포집된 이산화탄소는 안전하게 하차되어 트럭이나 파이프라인을 통해 수송됩니다. 현지 여건에 따라 땅속에 격리되거나 다양한 상업 및 산업 용도로 사용될 수 있습니다.
예를 들어, 아람코의 혁신 기술 Converge®를 통해 이산화탄소를 접착제, 코팅, 엘라스토머 및 실란트와 같은 고부가가치 폴리머로 전환할 수 있습니다. 그리고 아람코는 재생에너지를 활용하여 이산화탄소를 연료로 전환하는 혁신적인 방법을 개발했으며, 또한 이산화탄소를 시멘트 양생에도 활용합니다.
2010년 아람코는 액체 흡수, 고체 흡착제, 초저온, 멤브레인 및 순산소 연소를 포함하는 다양한 이산화탄소 포집기술을 개발하기 시작했습니다. 이 중에 우리는 고체 흡착제를 실현가능 프로토타입 개발에 사용하기로 결정했습니다. 고체 흡착제는 크기와 경직성 측면에서 일부 단점이 있었지만, 우리는 1년간의 개발을 거쳐 2011년에 탄소포집시스템을 포드 F-250 픽업트럭에 성공적으로 적용하고 이산화탄소 포집률 10%를 달성했습니다.
우리의 판단이 맞았다는 것이 입증되었고, 이제 도전과제는 시스템을 더 작고 더 효율적으로 만드는 것이었습니다.
일반적인 직관과 상반될 수 있지만, 소형 엔진은 대형 엔진보다 비효율적입니다. 소형 엔진은 더 많은 폐열을 발생시키며, 이는 이산화탄소 포집 및 압축에 사용될 에너지가 더 많은 것을 의미합니다.
2013년 아람코는 액체 용제 (탄산칼륨용액) 방식으로 전환하여, 전체 시스템의 크기를 8분의 1로 축소하고 시스템 대부분을 토요타 캠리 차량의 섀시 하부에 배치했습니다. 그 결과 성능이 3배 향상되어 차량 운행 중 발생한 이산화탄소 배출의 30%를 포집할 수 있었습니다.
우리는 화물운송 산업에서 아람코의 이동식탄소포집 기술이 보유한 잠재력을 인식했습니다. 특히 트럭은 일반적으로 운행이 끝난 후 차고지로 복귀하기 때문에 차량에 저장된 이산화탄소를 쉽게 하차할 수 있습니다.
이에 따라 2019년 아람코는 클래스8 볼보 대형트럭에 탄소포집시스템을 적용하는 연구를 시작했습니다. 승용차 프로토타입과 원리는 동일하지만, 운전석과 트레일러 사이에 훨씬 더 큰 시스템이 배치되었습니다. 아람코는 아미노산 기반의 새로운 용제시스템을 개발했으며, 터보 컴파운딩을 활용하여 엔진에서 에너지를 회수했습니다. 그 결과 트럭 이산화탄소 배출 포집률 40%라는 현재까지 최고의 성과를 달성했습니다.
전 세계 이산화탄소 배출의 2.1%가 해상운송에서 발생하는 것으로 추정됩니다. 선박은 자동차보다 수천 톤의 연료를 더 소비하지만, 탄소포집 기술 관련 과학은 동일하며, 규모의 문제입니다.
국제해사기구 (IMO)는 2050년까지 온실가스 배출을 2008년 수준 대비 50% 이상 감축한다는 목표를 갖고 있습니다. 그리고 아람코는 대형 선박에 적용하기 위한 기술을 개발하기 위해 업계 파트너들과 협력을 시작했습니다.