Petro Rabigh, one of the largest integrated refining and petrochemical facilities in Saudi Arabia, has teamed up with Gulf Cryo, a leading provider of industrial, medical, and specialty gases in the region, for the inauguration of a new carbon capture and utilization facility in the kingdom's Western Region.
Under a long-term strategic partnership spanning over 20 years, which was signed in March last year, Gulf Cryo has designed and built an advanced carbon capture plant at Petro Rabigh's Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG) plant, which is located at the Red Sea town of Rabigh, north of Jeddah.
Announcing the launch of operations, Petro Rabigh said the new facility captures 300 metric tons of CO2 per day directly from the MEG plant.
This will result in the reduction of 100,000 metric tons per annum of carbon emissions at the source from the MEG plant, representing an 85% reduction in its total annual CO2 emissions footprint.
The captured CO2 is equivalent to the sequestration capacity of approximately 360,000 mangroves trees planted annually over their lifetimes.
The project is considered the first carbon capture plant in Saudi Arabia's western region dedicated to the merchant market and the second in the Kingdom.
By preventing the release of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, the project supports Saudi Arabia's target of net zero emissions by 2060 under Vision 2030 and aligns with several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The captured CO2 will be purified to a high-purity food-grade level by Gulf Cryo and transported in liquid form for re-use. Petro Rabigh will utilize part of the CO2 stream internally. At the same time, Gulf Cryo will supply the remainder to other industries across the Kingdom, including water desalination and mineralization, food preservation and transport cooling, agriculture, beverage carbonation, and ready-mix concrete.
President and CEO Othman Al Ghamdi said: "Taking meaningful action to cut our carbon footprint is a strategic priority for Petro Rabigh. Through this pioneering initiative under our strategic partnership, we are demonstrating an unwavering commitment to significantly reducing emissions over the long term."
"This directly supports the Kingdom's ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2060," he added.
Gulf Cyro Vice Chairman Abdul Salam Al Mazro said: "This landmark project anchors our leading position in CCUS solutions in the region and marks our first carbon capture project in the Kingdom. It underscores the importance of managing the full CO2 value chain; we reduce emissions at source while utilizing the recovered CO2 as a vital resource to help decarbonize supply chains of various industries."
"Working alongside Petro Rabigh is a real pleasure and demonstrates a successful partnership and a joint commitment to environmental stewardship. We look forward to celebrating continuous successes together," he added.
