Saudi Aramco has issued a press release announcing a range of decarbonisation activities it is intending to develop or has been involved in.

The first is a lower-carbon hydrogen production project in conjunction with Danish gas company Topsoe, which follows a successful pilot carried out in Denmark. The project will involve production of six (presumably metric) tonnes of a form of blue hydrogen per day at the Shaybah Natural Gas Liquids recovery plant in Saudi Arabia. Renewable electricity will be used in the steam reformation of “hydrocarbons” along with carbon capture.

In the second, Aramco is working with Siemens to develop a direct-air-capture test unit, which is expected to be ready next year. The test would capture just 12 tonnes of CO₂ per year, but if successful lead to a pilot plant that would capture 1,250 tonnes per year – still a drop in the ocean, but at least a scaling up of the technology.

In the third project, which is now complete, Aramco successfully sequestered CO₂ in volcanic rocks in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, by injecting the CO₂ after dissolving it in water; the process permanently converted the carbon dioxide into carbonate rock.

Finally, Aramco is also exploring tapping into geothermal energy around the west coast of Saudi Arabia.