Operations commence at major Carbon Capture plant in Saudi Arabia’s Western Region

Petro Rabigh, one of the largest integrated refining and petrochemical facilities in Saudi Arabia, and Gulf Cryo, a leading provider of industrial, medical, and specialty gases in the region, announced the inauguration of a new carbon capture and utilization facility, located in Saudi Arabia’s Western Region.

Under a 20-year strategic partnership, which was initially signed in March 2022, Gulf Cryo designed, constructed, and operated 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.

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.

In 2022, Saudi Arabia had announced the setting up of a carbon-capture sequestration center, located on the east coast of Saudi Arabia in Jubail, with a capacity to store up to 9 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2027.

The new facility, according to a press release, 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 percent reduction in its total annual CO2 emissions footprint. The captured CO2 is equivalent to the sequestration capacity of approximately 360,000 mangrove trees planted annually over their lifetimes.

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 (SDGs). The captured CO2 will be purified to a high-purity food-grade level by Gulf Cryo and transported in liquid form for reuse. 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.

Othman Al-Ghamdi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Petro Rabigh Co., 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 concluded.

Abdul Salam Al Mazro, Vice Chairman of Gulf Cryo, 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 concluded.