에너지 수요가 변화하는 세계에서 에너지 선도기업으로서, 아람코는 효과적인 에너지 솔루션을 찾는 역할을 적극적으로 수용하고 있습니다. 탄소순환경제는 지속가능한 미래를 위한 방향성을 제시할 수 있는 실용적인 개념입니다.
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.
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.
에너지 수요가 변화하는 세계에서 에너지 선도기업으로서, 아람코는 효과적인 에너지 솔루션을 찾는 역할을 적극적으로 수용하고 있습니다. 탄소순환경제는 지속가능한 미래를 위한 방향성을 제시할 수 있는 실용적인 개념입니다.
한 세기가 넘는 시간 동안, 탄소는 경제번영의 기반을 제공해 온 에너지시스템을 구성하는 중요한 요소였습니다. 그러나 전 세계가 배출 도전과제 대응을 위한 솔루션을 모색하면서 탄소순환경제의 개념이 부상했습니다. 탄소순환경제는 인간과 지구의 균형을 회복하고 탄소순환을 조화시키는 4R (감축, 재사용, 재활용, 제거)을 망라하는 개념입니다.
지구는 대기, 해양 및 육상 생태계 간 자연적이고 안정적인 탄소 흐름을 통해 수십억 년간 이러한 균형을 이루어 왔습니다. 최근까지, 인간은 땅에서 탄소를 추출하여 대기 중으로 방출하는 선형적 모델을 사용하며 탄소순환 내에서 단순한 역할을 수행했습니다. 그러나 우리는 지구의 자연적 과정을 모방함으로써 우리 나름의 균형을 이루어낼 수 있습니다. 탄소순환의 고리를 닫아 에너지 효율과 재생에너지 사용을 통해 배출을 저감할 뿐 아니라 탄소배출을 완전히 재사용 및 제거하는 것입니다.
4 R
아람코는 탄소순환경제야말로 지속적인 경제적 성장을 보장하면서 글로벌 배출 저감에 최대의 영향을 미칠 수 있는 최고의 프레임워크라고 믿습니다.
아람코는 저렴한 에너지에 대한 보다 안정적인 접근성을 제공하고, 이산화탄소 배출을 줄이며, 연료 효율성을 높이고, 물을 절약하며, 보다 친환경적인 소비재 생산을 위한 차세대 소재를 개발하는 등의 기술 솔루션을 보급함으로서, 탄소순환경제 프레임워크를 지향하는 다수의 이니셔티브를 수행하고 있습니다.
또한 인공지능 및 빅데이터와 같은 4차 산업혁명 (4IR) 기술을 활용하여 회사의 에너지 소비를 모니터링하고, 운영을 최적화하며, 탄성파 처리 및 분석을 개선하고, 원유 회수방법을 최적화하며, 유정 생산성을 향상함으로서 배출을 저감하고 있습니다. 아람코 업스트림 사업의 탄소 집약도는 이미 업계 최저 수준이며, 우리는 회사 활동의 환경적 영향을 최소화하는 효과적인 탄소관리 솔루션을 지속적으로 혁신하고 개발할 것입니다.
가스 플레어링은 석유 생산과정에서 발생하는 수반 가스를 연소하는 것으로, 낭비적이며 이산화탄소의 배출원 입니다. 아람코는 1970년대 마스터 가스 시스템 (Master Gas System) 도입 당시부터 오랫동안 가스 플레어링 감소의 선구자 역할을 했으며, 플레어링 최소화 프로그램 (Flaring Minimization Program)에서 혁신적인 4IR 기술을 지속적으로 개발 및 보급하고 있습니다. 이는 과거에는 낭비되었던 에너지원을 회수하고 사용하는데 도움을 줄 뿐만 아니라, 배출을 상당 부분 저감합니다. 이는 세계은행의 '2016-2020기후변화 행동 계획'에 발맞추어 2030년까지 제로 루틴 플레어링을 달성하기 위한 아람코의 지속적인 노력의 일환입니다.
EOR은 생산성을 높이기 위해 석유 저류층에 물질 (예: 포집된 이산화탄소)을 주입하는 프로세스입니다. 아람코 하위야 가스 플랜트는 4,500만 scf의 이산화탄소를 포집 및 처리하는 역량을 보유하고 있습니다. 포집 및 처리된 이산화탄소는 파이프라인을 통해 85km 떨어진 중동 최대의 탄소 EOR 이니셔티브 중 하나인 우스마니아 유전으로 수송 후 석유 저류층에 주입되어, 배출 저감과 석유회수증진에 기여합니다.
이산화탄소를 화학적으로 새로운 제품으로 전환시켜 재활용할 수 있습니다. 아람코의 폴리프로필렌 카보네이트 폴리올 제품 라인인 Converge®를 활용하여, 이산화탄소를 획기적인 성능, 비용 및 탄소발자국 특성을 가진 청정 고부가가치 소재로 재활용할 수 있습니다. Converge® 폴리올은 소비자용 및 산업용 접착제, 단열재, 식품 포장재, 실란트 및 엘라스토머 애플리케이션과 같은 일상 애플리케이션에 사용됩니다. 또한 이산화탄소를 장기간 저장하여 환경에서 온실가스 (GHG)를 제거합니다.
아람코는 이산화탄소를 포집하고 지질층에 격리하여 대기에서 배출을 제거하는 탄소포집·활용·저장과 관련된 여러 기술을 연구하고 있습니다. 한편으로는 지구의 천연 탄소흡수원을 활용하는 다수의 이니셔티브에도 투자하고 있습니다. 예를 들어, 맹그로브 나무는 육지의 숲보다 최대 100배 더 빠르고 더 영구적으로 탄소를 격리하여 탄소격리에서 중요한 역할을 수행합니다. 아람코는 맹그로브 이니셔티브를 통해 사우디아라비아에 2백만 그루 이상의 맹그로브 묘목을 심어, 이산화탄소를 제거하고 생물다양성 민감지역을 보호하고 있습니다.
사우디아라비아가 의장국으로 주최한 G20 정상회의는 '모두를 위한 21세기 기회 실현'이라는 주제 하에 '지구 보호'를 핵심 목표 중 하나로 설정하고, 탄소순환경제 개념을 글로벌 탄소순환의 균형 회복을 돕는 초석으로 포함했습니다. 이는 2020년 2월 리야드에서 개최된 제1회 국제탄소포집·활용·저장 (iCCUS) 컨퍼런스에서 더욱 강화되었습니다. 아민 나세르 (Amin H. Nasser) 아람코 대표이사 사장과 아흐마드 알-코웨이터 (Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter) 아람코 최고기술책임자 (CTO)를 포함한 산업 전반의 리더 (thought leader)들은 증가하는 글로벌 에너지 수요를 안정적이면서 지속가능한 방식으로 충족해야 하는 이중의 도전과제를 논의했습니다.
또한 석유·가스 기후변화 이니셔티브 (OGCI)의 창립 회원사로서, 아람코는 전 세계의 선도 에너지 기업들과 파트너십을 구축하여 기후변화 대응을 위한 실용적인 솔루션에 관해 협력하고 있습니다. 협력의 핵심은, 집단적 전문지식을 활용하여 공동의 인프라와 운영을 지원하고 더 저렴한 비용으로 CCUS를 구현함으로써 글로벌 CCUS 산업에 모멘텀을 불어넣는 것입니다.