Middle Eastern countries are actively carrying out energy transition

Since 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict coupled with the global energy crisis has allowed Middle Eastern petrochemical producers to gain considerable benefits
.
Market participants said that benefiting from high oil and gas prices, Middle Eastern countries will rely on the advantages of localized stone resources to invest, build or expand petrochemical projects and develop emerging energy sources
.
Among them, Saudi Arabia adheres to the stable energy transition strategy of placing equal emphasis on traditional energy and new energy, the United Arab Emirates is investing in downstream chemical business, and Oman plans to build multiple sets of green hydrogen and ammonia production capacity
.

Saudi Arabia has called for a stable energy transition

Recently, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national oil company, spoke out calling for a more realistic approach to the global energy transition
.
The company believes that fossil fuels must play a key role if a long-term low-carbon strategy is to be achieved, as well as a
stable energy supply.

Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser emphasized that the global energy transition plan should be based on three strategic pillars: policymakers and other stakeholders recognize that in the long term, there is still a need for an adequate and affordable supply of conventional energy; New energy and low-carbon energy should steadily supplement proven conventional energy; Further reduce the carbon footprint
of conventional energy sources through technical means.
He said Saudi Aramco seeks to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while investing in and expanding long-term oil and gas production capacity and continuing the company's downstream expansion
.

In the field of new energy, Saudi Aramco is making rapid
progress.
The company aims to produce 11 million mt/year of blue ammonia by 2030 and capture, utilize or store 11 million mt/year of
CO2 equivalent by 2035.
Saudi Aramco and SABIC Agri-Nutrition, the parent company of SABIC, recently achieved the production of blue hydrogen and blue ammonia in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and were certified
by TUV Rheinland, Germany's independent testing, inspection and certification body.
Fahad al-Sherehy, SABIC's vice president for energy efficiency and carbon management, said SABIC, Saudi Aramco's chemical business unit, is using its infrastructure to produce blue ammonia to help meet the growing global demand
for sustainable solutions.
In addition, according to Aramco's project partner Air Chemicals, Saudi Aramco's $5 billion flagship NEOM green hydrogen and green ammonia project in Saudi Arabia has entered the full implementation phase and is scheduled to start production
in 2026.

The UAE promotes the construction of petrochemical projects

The UAE, OPEC's third-largest oil producer, is the first Middle Eastern country
to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050.
The country's national oil company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (ADQ), are joining forces with international enterprises to advance petrochemical and low-carbon development projects
in the region.
Currently, ADNOC and ADQ's joint venture Abu Dhabi Chemical Derivatives Company (Ta'ziz) in the Ruvais Chemical Park project is in the initial development phase, involving an investment of at least US$5 billion, with more in
the pipeline.

Khaleefa Yousef al-Mheiri, acting CEO of the Ta'ziz joint venture, said the project was in line with the UAE's net-zero carbon emissions
initiative by 2050.
The project will leverage low-carbon power sources, such as cogeneration from the park's utilities, and grid power from nuclear and solar to drive manufacturing growth
.
Mheiri said: "Ta'ziz is a key enabler
of the UAE's industrial development and manufacturing growth ambitions.
In line with our chemicals growth strategy, this major project will harness the UAE's vast natural resources while meeting the growing global demand for chemicals to build new low-carbon industrial value chains
by leveraging clean grid electricity and natural gas-based feedstocks.
”

Ta'ziz's major project currently in the development phase is a world-class blue ammonia plant
in partnership with Fertiglobe, Mitsui Corporation and GS Energy.
Mitsui Corporation and GS Energy plan to purchase large amounts of low-carbon ammonia from the plant to meet growing demand
in Japan and South Korea.

Ta'ziz is also partnering with Proman in Switzerland to build a new 1.
8 million mt/year natural gas-to-methanol plant
in Ruwes.
Earlier this year, the two companies signed an agreement to build the UAE's first methanol production facility
.
Proman CEO David Cassidy said the methanol production facility will be one of
the most energy-efficient and carbon-emitting plants in the world.

Adnoc and ADQ, major shareholders in the Ta'ziz joint venture, said the next phase of growth would more than
double the chemical park's chemical production.
At the heart of the expansion is a new low-carbon steam cracker that will feed downstream derivatives plants
.
The unit is in the feasibility study phase and the design phase will begin
in the first quarter of 2023.

Oman accelerates the development of green hydrogen and green ammonia

Oman, the Middle East's largest non-OPEC oil producer, has significantly accelerated its green hydrogen and ammonia development plans this year, targeting 8.
5 million mt/year of green hydrogen and ammonia production capacity
by 2050.
In October, Oman announced its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, becoming the fourth member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to commit to net-zero carbon emissions after the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain
.

Oman's Ministry of Energy and Minerals recently established a hydrogen-centric energy company, Oman Hydrogen Company (HYDROM
).
Oman Hydrogen will be responsible for managing the tender and other aspects of Oman's green hydrogen strategy
.
The company plans to launch a tender for Oman's first green hydrogen project and award the project contract
by March 2023.
In addition, Oman plans to build 1.
25 million mt/year of green hydrogen capacity
by 2030.

Abdulaziz Al-Hidhani, director general for renewable energy and hydrogen operations at Oman's Ministry of Energy and Minerals, said Oman is offering incentives to investors, such as lower land fees, to develop green hydrogen projects
in the approximately 50,000-square-kilometer Doqum, Dhofar and Al Jazir regions.
These projects are expected to attract a total of $140 billion in investment
by 2050.
Omani said Omani state-owned energy company OQ will hold a 20 percent stake
in the green hydrogen projects.
OQ partnered with Air Products and ACWA Power to advance previously announced green hydrogen and green ammonia projects
in the Salalah Free Zone in southern Oman.
The project will produce hydrogen through water electrolysis and nitrogen through air separation for the production of green ammonia, while electricity comes from solar, wind and energy storage
.
Indian cleantech company ACME and Norwegian renewable energy producer Scatec are also planning to build a green ammonia project
in the Omando Kum Special Economic Zone.
The first phase of the project will produce 100,000 mt/year of green ammonia, and the total green ammonia production capacity of the project is expected to increase to 1.
1 million mt/year
upon completion of the second phase.