Saudi Aramco testing mix of renewables, carbon emissions to produce jet fuel, gasoline

Saudi Aramco has test projects underway that could produce jet fuel and gasoline from a mix of carbon emissions and renewables, the company's chief technology officer said Oct. 28.

One project involves using CO2 to produce jet fuel with renewable hydrogen and another focuses on gasoline based on renewable energy, Ahmad Al Khowaiter told reporters on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh.

"Those are pilot projects but eventually if successful and the market accepts it, we can scale it up," Khowaiter said. The CO2 used is captured from operations such as cement plants or from the air, he said.

Aramco has been capturing carbon emissions since 2015, at an average of 500,000-600,000 mt/year out of global capture of 37 million-40 million mt/year, he said. Carbon sequestration is part of the kingdom's circular carbon economy that aims to curb emissions by reusing them instead of releasing them into the air.

Aramco is producing natural gas-based blue hydrogen and plans to reach large-scale output by 2030, he said. While he did not mention what Aramco's blue hydrogen cost is, he said he expects "theoretically" the cost to be $1.50-$2/kg, based on the lowest cost of natural gas in the Henry Hub range.

The gas for the hydrogen will come from the giant Jafurah development in the eastern part of the country, expected to reach 1 bcf/d by 2030, or 11 million mt of ammonia, he said.

Hydrogen cannot easily be transported, except for via a few pipelines, so the only way it can be transported at an acceptable cost is to convert it into ammonia, ship it as ammonia and then convert it back to hydrogen at the receiving end.

The location of where the ammonia produced from the natural gas will be exported from hasn't been decided yet, Khowaiter said.

Jafurah will provide hydrogen for export and additional gas will be used to displace liquids used in the power sector in the kingdom by 2030, Khowaiter said. The breakdown for uses of the gas is about 50% hydrogen and 50% for the power sector, he added.